The Girl that Talks to Trees
by Emelion3
Summary: The Ninja Gang is stranded and lost. Hungry, they come across something. What will happen when the desitinies of a girl and the ninja intertwine?
1. Chapter 1

**Ahh, okay Eme3 here, I got really bored and have been procrastinating a long while on my other story, so I wanted to make myself feel better by writing about my new fav cartoon show, Ninjago! Is it weird that a high school student thinks this show is kick-butt? On to the chapter of unsuspecting awesomeness!**

**I do not own Ninjago or Lego or any of their characters :)**

* * *

**Ch 1: A Girl, a Boy, and a Tree**

**No One's POV**

"I'm sooo starving, I would consume anything!" Jay moaned as his stomach concurred in the same loud fashion.

"I sense that your statement is false and improbable," Zane responded with a straight face.

"Look, Sensei Wu, what's that below?" Kai asked. The ninja had been trying to unlock their true potential, but in their blindness of only searching for the main result, they had got lost on the journey. They had seen no town for a few weeks and ran out of food supplies. Any variation in The Sea of Sand would be welcome and seen as a glimpse of hope.

"A home, it appears to be," Sensei Wu stated.

"In the middle of a desert?" Jay asked in bewilderment. Nya shifted the steering wheel and eased the flying ship into a descent. It landed gracefully in front of a large green patch of grass with an aluminum trailer in the middle **(Mmm, toasty! Who would use aluminum in a desert!)**

"Well? Aren't you going to knock? Soliciting is illegal in some parts of Ninjago," Sensei told his pupils. He gazed over to them and saw all four of his young crickets drooling slightly with wide, ravenous eyes peering beyond the trailer. Blocking the view on either side of the trailer surrounded by a picket fence was a lemon tree. Sensei Wu got out his Bo stick and smacked Jay, Kai, Zane, and Cole on the head.

"If you wish to receive greatness, you must first ask for it," Sensei Wu said wisely.

"Yes Sensei Wu," they all moped while bowing respectfully. They all then practically stampeded up to the door. Jay came to a screeching halt in front of the metal door, the others, not expecting this, ran into him, creating a giant ninja heap. Talk about stealth. They all dusted off and Zane pushed the doorbell. An old woman in a stained shirt and a wrinkled man in tattered overalls answered the door.

"Do you think we should have let Zane answer the door?" Cole whispered to Kai. "He's kind of... different if you haven't noticed."

"Probably not," Kai whispered back.

"Oh, hello dearies! How may I help you youngsters? We hardly ever have visitors around here," the elderly woman inquired.

"Excuse us ma'am and sir, from our flying aircraft that used to be used as an aquatic traveling device, we couldn't help but notice your household. We are lost and have been without food for several weeks. When we saw the beautiful flora you have in your backyard we were only reminded of our struggle for food. We were wondering if you could make a patronage to saving the world by keeping some good honest ninja alive by granting a basic necessity," Zane explained with a straight face.

"Wait w-what?" Cole questioned, utterly lost.

"I think he actually talked Jay in circles!" Kai said while Jay was stumbling about, ready to pass out from confusion.

"Well, hon, I'm afraid you're asking the wrong person. Our adopted daughter is the one you should be asking, she takes care of the garden for us. She should be out back. If you come through here there's a back door at the end of the household," she answered Zane in the same cheerful manner.

"We are in your debt and are obliged that you have let us into your dwelling," Sensei Wu bowed gratefully. As the ninja stepped through the house hold, they saw muddy water bubbling on the stove, a full sized, stained, roach infested bed on one end, and a hammock over the kitchen table, which was overflowing with bills and overdue fines from some previous house. However, as they entered the backyard, it was as if the Ninjago Gang had been teleported to a Garden of Eden. Stone led the way and encompassed a stunning fountain that acted as an irrigation system to herbs, fruit trees, berry shrubs, and all sorts of exotic plants. The elderly couple had retired back into their house due to the heat. The ninja called out for the daughter, but received no response.

"I don't think anyone would mind if we took a few grunkleberries from this tree just so we can survive a few more days," Jay said as he started to reach up into the tree.

"I assume you ninja will make the morally right decision," Sensei Wu stated as he poured a cup of tea out of his Lapis Lazuli teapot.

"Sensei! You said we ran out of tea two weeks ago," Cole exclaimed, taken back.

The Master blushed, but recovered, "You are mistaken, young cricket, tea, this is not. Hot water flavored with herbs, this is." The ninja all nodded and agreed that there was indeed a difference. **(*faceplam*)** Jay was about to snatch one of the grunkleberries high up in the tree when something smacked his hand away. It was a branch that was connected to the tree! The bark contorted into a grumpy man's face.

"No touchy," the tree-thing said as it wagged its finger back and forth.

"But we need **something** to eat!" Jay said, the only one not taken back by a talking tree because he was too hungry. He reached up again and again his hand was smacked away.

"Ah-ah, no touchy," the voice boomed.

"Ugh, if we can't make this annoying tree give up some of his berries, we'll just have to chop it down! It's only a tree anyway and once it is dead we can have all the fruit we want," Cole exclaimed as he took out his scythe. He prepared to swing at the tree and then lunged at it with full force.

"That isn't at all the morally right decision!" Sensei screamed out.

"If he swings at that tree it will lead to a catastrophic change of events! Oh, too late..." Zane said.

A streak of gold sped across the lush green landscape. Once Cole finished the swing, there wasn't the sound of a chop of wood, but more of a squishy, gut-wrenching sound. On the ground in front of the grunkleberry tree was a teenage girl with tattered overalls, a green tank top, a mop of curly golden-blonde hair, and piercing blue-grey eyes that were tearing up right about now. Worst of all, she had Cole's scythe wedged in her abdomen. A pool of blood was forming at the base of the tree. You think she would be crying over the large weapon gorged into her stomach, but that was not the case.

"You tried to kill Eddie!" she screeched at Cole with hate and tear filled eyes, her face contorted into anger. Cole just looked horrified as the girl before him passed out in a pool of blood **(little red lego bricks actually)**, protecting a darn tree. If she died, it would be his fault, and her hating him would be her last thought.

* * *

**What do ya think? Turns out I'm better at writing stuff faster when I don't use pen and paper... Review... You know you want to...!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am getting really pumped about this story... so here's another chapter!**

**I do not own Lego or Ninjago or the characters.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Anger and Forgiveness**

**Cole's POV**:

Ugh, this stinks. All we wanted was food, which we never got. Nya was in the process of performing surgery on the girl aboard The Destiny's Bounty and no one was allowed inside. When Hilda and Edgar, the girl's adoptive parents, found out what had happened, well... the room we were waiting in got severely awkward with all the death stares I was getting. What do people not get about an accident? After around an hour of Jay using the same bad jokes that Zane didn't understand, Nya emerged from the ship's cabin. Everyone jumped up and ran past Nya to the Cabin. Inside, the blonde girl looked up groggily and peered at everyone's faces in confusion.

"Oh we're so glad you're okay!" Hilda said while squeezing the girl to death. Edgar grunted in assent. The girl then roughly pushed Hilda off her body.

"Who in the Ninjago Underworld are you?" she interrogated.

Edgar began to shake, "You mean, you don't remember who we are?" The girl shook her head.

"Do you know your own name?" the mom asked. Another shake.

"You're Tara and we're you're parents who adopted you. Don't you remember?" she questioned.

"You are not my parents," Tara sated with an emotionless, icy stare. That was around when Hilda and Edgar ran off the ship crying, cursing the Ninjas, and their child for that matter. I guess in the desert in you forget your parents names once and it is out the door with you!

"What do you remember?" Sensei Wu asked cautiously.

"I remember he [points accusatory finger at moi] tried to murder Eddie and hit me instead," she explained, "and I remember how you said something about a morally right decision and he [looks at Zane] knew that it would be wrong to chop down Eddie. So, obviously he [points finger at me again] is clearly wicked and he [see second bracket] is trying to protect all good things."

"Well this is going to take awhile," Jay groaned as Kai, Nya, and Sensei left the room to talk.

"Look, Tara, I really didn't mean to hurt you and I'm sorry, but we were really hungry and needed some food and that tree wouldn't give up his darn grunkleberries!" I told her.

"Ed's not supposed to give fruit when I'm away, it's his job. Plus, did you really think killing him was the only answer?" Tara asked as she nodded her head, agreeing with herself. Silence...

"I may not have thought my actions through, but I was trying to keep my family alive, that's my job. So I'm sorry that I hurt you and your tree's feelings trying to save the world and all. I should of never worried about you. To think I was scared of how things would turn out," I said while an angry blush formed on my cheeks as I stormed out of the room in anger. Who does she think she is? We can't just bow to everyone's wishes at every turn. Jay followed me out of room.

"I thought you were only scared of things not from this world, Cole," he teased.

"Well, when I first saw her, her golden mop of curly hair and eyes that could tell or hide anything, I thought she might be out of this world," I replied.

* * *

**Zane's POV**

The new girl, Tara, was now looking at her bed sheets with slumped shoulders and whitening fists clutching bundles of fabric.

"Are you alrigh-" I began.

She cut me off, "Y-y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She looked up to me and smiled. Tears began to fall from between her eyelashes, making dark marks on the fabric. She started to shudder and shake in a fit of tears. I had never dealt with something like this before. How do you deal with water that pours out of one's eyes? Did you plug it up with cork? It was most unusual. I suddenly got the impulse that this was not something to fix physically, but emotionally.

"What's your name?" she asked quietly once she was able to speak through some of the tears.

"Zane," I replied.

"Zane, how would you feel if you could not remember anything and was lost in the world? All I knew is that one boy, I think you called him Cole, was trying to destroy the thing I loved most and in some way, you were trying to protect it. Don't I deserve to be mad at him for what he has done to the little life that I can still remember and hold close to my heart?" Tara asked with big trusting eyes. Immediately a flash of images appeared in my head, all incoherent, all jumbled.

"I don't remember much of my life either, I don't recall ever having parents, but recently I have been seeing a place in my dreams, I believe it shall lead me to my past. As for deserving to be mad, anger is never the solution. If anger must be used, it should be used hand in hand with its brother, forgiveness," I told Tara. Her eyes were still red and watery, but she had stopped shaking and her mood was improving. I felt as if I had just performed a miracle.

"Thanks for the advice Zane," she said as a little tint of color appeared on her face, "we may have more in common than I could of imagined." She looked up and her eyes sparkled in a happy manner and I was taken aback. What was this strange feeling, it was unlike anything I had experienced before. It made me nervous and giddy at the same time.

"Would you like me to help you with the brother of anger?" I asked while bowing graciously.

Tara laughed causing that strange feeling again, "Wouldn't be happier!"

"Was it something I said that was funny?" I asked we left the room.

* * *

**That's all for this Chappie! CLICK that review button! The Ninja would want you to :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I could blab on and on, but instead here's another chappie!**

**I don't own Lego, Ninjago, or any cool stuff.**

**Chapter 3: Icing and Cake**

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Zane introduced me to everyone on board as we headed to the kitchen. I suggested baking a cake would be the best idea because I always heard that food was the key to every man's heart. We worked in silence, which was a little awkward at first. But then I started to understand that you didn't need to talk to have a good time or understand each other. We had got the triple, triple, triple, mud brownie cake batter into the oven and were now working on the caramel frosting. A devious smirk fell across my features as I looked up at Zane. He just looked at me with confusion as he was stirring his icing. That was when I flung icing right at his face.

He grinned, "You have picked a fight that cannot be won." That was when he unleashed a bombardment of caramel all over my shirt. In the end, we were both doused in an even coat of icing, except he was on the floor and my foot was triumphantly on his chest.

"Victory!" I yelled with both hands in the air as I listened to an imaginary applause. I then grabbed him by his hoodie and lifted him up to where our faces were a few inches apart.

"A fight that cannot be won? I believe I just proved you wrong, Zane," I grinned as I dropped him back on the ground. Was that pink on his cheeks? Nah, don't be silly Tara, just your overactive imagination. We ended up having to make more caramel icing. Jay entered the kitchen about five minutes later and stared at us.

"What did you do? Did you dump a whole bucket of icing all over each other?" he asked in bewilderment. Actually, that was exactly what we did. We ended up making a third batter. We both just looked at each other at the same time and just shrugged. An icing covered Jay left the room complaining and shaking his head down the hall. Thankfully, we left the fourth batter for the cake or else we would have no icing for the cake. The cake was removed from the cooling rack and each layer was coated with icing. On the top I wrote in icing: _Will you forgive me?_ Yeah, I'm not too fancy with words. Finally, we coated the sides with Heath and pecan pieces. Exhausted, I sat on the floor and watched caramel drip from each of my curls.

"We should probably clean up before I give the cake to Cole, right?" I asked him. Zane nodded. I stood up and tried to pat myself off, with little success. Everything just sort of stuck to itself. I reached up and took some icing off of Zane's head and tasted it.

"Thanks for the help again! You're an amazing cook!" I told him in a sing-song voice as I skipped down the hall. Zane just looked at me dumbfounded.

* * *

**Zane's POV**

Wow... Wait! I have to clean the kitchen mess up now! She did that to me on purpose!

* * *

**Tara's POV**

I knocked on Nya's door around an hour later with a towel wrapped around me. It took forever to get the icing out of my hair and my old clothes... they have gone to a better place. The trash can. Nya opened the door.

"This may sound weird, but can I borrow some clothes? I ruined mine," I explained.

"Sure! Come on in!" She said excitedly, "I'm so glad there's another girl on the ship now, normally people just knock on my door to see if I want to play video games." She went over to her dresser and pulled out one of her red dresses. I went behind a folding screen and tried it on. Did I mention I'm extremely short? The fabric went onto the ground and I kept tripping over it. Plus, it was a little... much. I'm not into sparkles and froufrou stuff, but this thing was covered in it.

"Oh, can I do your hair too?" She pleaded.

"Uhh... no, I prefer in down, naturally curly, and short," I justified as I left the room and ran to the kitchen. Zane was still in his pink apron, which I found adorable, and was mopping up the sticky mess on the floor. Oh caramel icing, I forgot to help clean up. Seeing my face he just smiled and motioned to the cake.

I flashed him my biggest smile, "Thanks, I owe you big time." I grabbed the cake and looked down every corridor until I found Cole.

"Cole!" I yelled while running toward him, cake in hand. He whirled around.

"Look! Look what I made fo-" I yelled in excitement. That was when I tripped and splattered cake all over his face. Darn Nya's dress! He just looked at me with narrowed eyes as cake ran down his face.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I'm so sorry! (starts talking really fast) It's just I felt really bad and I didn't mean to get mad at you and I made a cake asking for you to forgive me and now this happens and..." I took a gulp of air, "I'm sorry..." He grabbed some cake from his head and tried it.

"Brownies and caramel, my favorite! I shouldn't of blown up at you anyway. How about we make a deal, If I forgive you, will you forgive me?" Cole asked.

"Not unless you promise to not try and hurt a tree ever again," I huffed and looked the other direction as I stuck my pinkie finger out towards him.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," he chuckled as we locked pinkies. That started the second food fight of the day. Is that like my easiest way to communicate? A food fight? Anyway, we both ended up on the floor laughing our butts off. Nya wasn't happy I didn't act lady-like in my dress and ruined yet another article of clothing.

* * *

**I promise that the characters will actually be productive next chapter. I can't decide who Tara should be with though, Zane or Cole? Mainly I can't decide why she WOULDN'T pick one :D.**


	4. Chapter 4

**4 Chapters in two days! Woot woot! Enjoy! I love, love, love your reviews! It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Blind and Seeing Red**

**Tara's POV**

I was wearing Kai's clothes when Sensei Wu called us all to his room. Nya refused to let me borrow another dress due to the little cake incident and these were clothes when Kai was younger, so they actually fit me. Also, you can't exactly kick butt in a dress. Sensei first debriefed me on how his brother was evil, how they lost his nephew, and about how the old wives' tale of the serpentine was actually true and now the serpentine wanted to release a giant snake called the Great Devourer by gathering Fang Blades to destroy the world. So, in a simplified way, I was hanging out with a bunch of loonies. Sensei Wu then announced he was leaving to get help in order to get his nephew, Lloyd, back. He then handed me some satin, lavender color cloth.

"What's this?" I said with a little edge in my voice knowing where this was probably going.

"It is a ninja uniform, I would like to ask you to join our team. Life is made of constant pulling and pushing, back and forth. I believe my team is all push and no pull. This creates an unbalance. I need you to give everyone a little push," Sensei told me. "Are you okay with leaving your parents behind?" Heat rose to my cheeks, as I got annoyed at the thought of the people I saw before being my parents.

"Even if those were once my parents, they could never be now. No parent should ditch their child just because they have amnesia and can't remember them," I stated stiffly.

"Sensei, you agreed it would just be us four! Won't it be weird with a girl on our team?" Kai whined in discontent.

I scowled at my nails and sniffed indifferently, "I never liked the color red anyways."

* * *

**Zane's POV**

Tara had her ninja suit on and I watched with Cole, Jay, and Sensei as the squabbled and fought across the deck of the ship.

"Certainly there is good reason behind your decision for a new addition to the team Sensei. But how will this improve us? What is her element?" I asked with overflowing curiosity.

"I have lately seen in my visions that you ninja will no longer be able to perform the Tornado of Creation because your elemental powers have gotten too powerful that it creates instability. One element can defeat another or mute its contribution. Balance needs to be found," Sensei explained, "That balance is within Tara. Although she may not remember for herself, she has the ability to control plant life, a very emotion-filled element. Tara is very dependent on you and Cole. Water sustains plants. Water is simply an extension of the ice element. Plants need earth to grow on, yet earth can learn to become more rooted and stable by depending on the plants. That is why Tara gets along so well with you and Cole. As for Kai, fire burns trees. This explains why Tara isn't so fond of him. But Kai needs to understand that fire needs fuel and plants are tinder, so he is dependent on Tara. The sooner he realizes this, the better. Finally, when lightning strikes a tree, it has the possibility to light on fire. Kai and Jay can get along well together through Tara. Your elements intertwine through her." I glanced over to see how Kai and Tara's fight was coming along. They were now in the midst of giving each other noogies. Tara saw me watching and smiled a lopsided smile along with giving a peace sign. Cole and Jay watched happily while munching on a bucket of kettle corn.

Sensei continued, "Before you guys mainly acted separately, except when absolutely mandatory. I hope she can unite you. Does that answer all your questions? I should not put off what can be done today."

"How will she train?" I asked Sensei. I looked around. Our mentor had already left. Kai and Tara were making their way over to the three of us.

"Have you settled your differences?" I asked them.

"No, wait," Tara said as she gave Kai a good jab in the stomach.

"What was that for!" He exclaimed.

"You hit me in the stomach while giving me a noogie and I still have not recovered from Cole's scythe. It's called revenge dear," she smiled deviously, "Now are we going to look for those blade thingies or what?"

Jay also smiled deviously, "No, before that you need to take a little test before you can even be considered on our team." A light bulb went off in my head as comprehension dawned on me of what was about to happen.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Boy did Jay look ridiculous. At least the guys were seemingly having fun with this. Jay was decked out in a fake Sensei Wu beard, Bo staff, and a tea set. I had to finish an obstacle course within the time Jay finished a cup of tea. Cole, Kai, and Zane were sitting off on the side watching eagerly. A whistle was blown indicating for me to start and I ran for a wooden merry-go-round type obstacle with wooden enemies in three different locations. I leapt up on to the machine, ran to the first enemy, and... fell on my face. The figurine smacked me and I landed beside Jay.

"Fail," Jay stated.

"Stupid ninja clothes being too big!" I yelled in frustration at my clothes.

"Ahh, this brings back memories," Kai whispered to Cole. I ran back to the start and rolled up my clothes so I wouldn't trip this time. The whistle was blown again. My memory of my second try was a blur, I remember heading to the first obstacle, and then I remember getting hit in the head by a giant pole during the third or fourth obstacle.

"Fail," I heard Jay in the distance. My head was really spinning. I managed to stumble to the starting line."

* * *

**(Out of Tara's range of Hearing) No one's POV**

"Why did you hurl that at her? You probably gave her a concussion! It's bad enough she has amnesia!" Cole yelled while shaking Kai like a bobble head.

"It wouldn't be fair if she completed it on her second try, now would it?" he responded. A thunk resounded beside them followed by a head of blonde curls standing up wearily.

"Fail," Jay redundantly stated.

Zane had been completely focused on Tara the whole time and suggested, "Maybe you should take away all distractions Tara. Perhaps you are too focused on what Jay or one of us is doing and how much time you have left. Vision is a great asset, but can also become a great hindrance. I suggest you try the course blindfolded."

Everyone looked at him dumbfounded and harmoniously yelled in different screeching tones, "BLINDFOLDED!"

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Grreaat... now I can't see a thing. Of course I was distracted by everyone else because I was wondering what they were thinking of my performance. However, I really didn't see how this was any better. The whistle sounded and even before I managed to feel my way to the first obstacle, I heard those dreaded words.

"Fail." I just couldn't take it anymore! In a fit of rage, I just yelled at the top of my lungs. Suddenly, I could kind of see the obstacle course with my blindfold on. It was like something was telling me what was where. There was a long pause and the whistle was finally blown. I leapt upon the merry-go-round, which was no longer moving for some reason, jumped across some moving poles, grabbed onto a large wooden dolly (surprisingly fuzzy) that spun me around, and back flipped off to where Jay was probably around.

"So... did I pass? I apologize for getting so mad back there..." I rambled off shyly.

Jay squeaked, "Yeah, you passed alright." I took off my blindfold excitedly and started jumping around excitedly doing my cabbage patch victory dance. Everyone was looking at me funny.

"What?" I asked, "Did I get something on me?" They all shook their heads simultaneously and pointed behind me. I spun around and looked to see what all the huff-puff was about. My mouth fell open a little as I took in the obstacle course, entirely covered in moss.

"I... uh... um... sorry? I'll clean it up right away!" I said while saluting my new ninja team. Jay leapt off the stairs and hugged me.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome!" he yelled into my eardrum as his beard tickled my face. I felt like I was being hugged by an old man. I pushed him off gently.

"That means the blindfold worked!" I jumped for joy as I ran to Zane and gave him a hug."Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I yelled into his shirt while giving him a deadly bear hug. When I finally let him out of my vice-like grip Kai and Jay were grinning oddly at Zane and Cole was just scowling at me with a renewed anger.

"What?" I asked, completely clueless.

* * *

**That's it for this Chappie! I like how in the title the blind has two meanings when you get to the end :). The literal blindfold and her blindness for not understanding Cole. Sensei Wu is really hard to get his character right! Review... (uses mind control to make you hit that review button!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**So apparently people only view fanfic's at noon, because I don't get many views at all when I post too late into the evening because of time zones and all that fun stuff. Hopefully posting earlier will encourage more people to read! On with the chappie!**

**I do not own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Fall and Fall**

**Tara's POV:**

We were setting us flyers. Stupid fliers! You would think when you search for a fang blade that can lead to the destruction of the entire Ninjago Universe that you would have to go through tombs and explore the world Indiana Jones style, but nooo. Apparently, your average Joe the street will hold all the key answers to a world's survival.

In the midst of working, I randomly thought of something, "I think your guy's golden weapons are wicked awesome and all, but the moment I get handed a golden shovel as a weapon and that's it!" Cole laughed and Kai just rolled his eyes at me. Jay was too busy trying to win over Nya to pay attention to what I was saying. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Zane was paying attention. He was dropping papers all over this angry, withered man's store front! I ran over to him and shook my hand in front of his face. No blinking, just a vacant stare.

"Zane? Zaaanee. ZANE. SNAP OUT OF IT!" I yelled at him. Nothing.

"You asked for it," I informed him as I gave him a good flick to the forehead.

He shook his head and looked at me while the others were cleaning up his mess, "That should of been deemed unnecessary."

"You weren't paying attention!" I huffed in frustration. Zane pointed at something beyond my head and I turned around to see a small black hawk circling around in the sky.

I raised my eyebrows at him and sighed, "It's a bird, what's you point?" Jay looked like he was on a sugar high once as he heard my words.

"That bird!" he exclaimed in excitement, "It has always led us to good fortune! Let's follow it!" And that was the beginning of our game of follow the leader, with a bird. Kai forced Nya to stay behind. I did not see why she couldn't, I mean I was new to all of this and knew practically nothing and I was coming along. After a decent thirty minutes of hiking in a desert, we all stopped in front of an enormous rock wall that loomed above us. Jay and I were already exhausted, and given my clumsiness record, I hoped I wouldn't fall off to my doom. I started first and tried to find some sturdy hand and footholds. Everyone else let me go first probably because they knew I had a high risk of falling and tripping too. Zane eventually passed me halfway up the wall. Cole, in his element, was excelling and scaling the rocks with speed and strength. Kai looked determined to beat them all and was trying to reach a handhold way above his head. He jumped off his footholds and latched onto the handhold with both arms. He hadn't checked if the rock was going to support his weight and it crumbled under the pressure. Panicking, I released both of my handholds to save the flailing Kai. With my legs wrapped around a rock and in a backbend position, I clasped onto Kai's hands.

"Hey!" I said with a Barbie doll grin because I knew I just saved his life and I indeed was not the first one to look like a clumsy idiot on the rock wall. With much effort and exertion, I bended back over and threw Kai up onto a large ledge. I then climbed up onto the ledge. We were both panting and breathing hard.

"That was... just a... test..." Kai said in-between ragged, raspy breaths, "I could of... saved myself... I don't need... you."

"No you couldn't save yourself, stupid," I retorted, "What happened... to that peak... physical condition you were... telling me about?" Kai just grunted and went ahead of me.

"Oh, I insist, after you Sir Trippy. Thanks for saving my life Tara. Your quite welcome, Kai," I mumbled, playing out how the proper conversation should of went. I then shook my head and continued climbing. While Kai and I were having one of our little episodes, Jay had given up and insisted we should go on without him. Once we got to the top, there was a steep descent to the other side of the wall.

"We couldn't just go around the wall!" Cole exclaimed. I did a 360 scan of the top of the wall. There was a Quaw Tree that somehow managed to survive at this altitude and in these unfathomable conditions. The tree's bark is known for its medicinal properties and grows back at an alarming rate so you can harvest the bark again. With that knowledge in mind, I marched straight up to that tree like any other normal person and asked politely if I could use some of its bark. Cole, Zane, and Kai ignored me thinking I was just a strange child and very carefully tried to inch their way down the rock wall. They only started paying attention when I was snowboarding, ahem... dirtboarding, down the wall on the hunk of bark I was allowed to take from the tree. I just stuck my tongue out at them as they stared when I sped past them. When there is a girl talking to a tree, never underestimate her. She always has a plan! I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for them to finish coming down. The hawk looked impatient too; it was already more than one-hundred feet away. When we arrived at a small canyon with a roaring river below and a large dead tree used as a bridge across the canyon, Cole gave up and said he needed a breather. I was pooped too, so I plopped down next to him.

"This tree is dead right?" he asked.

"Nah, it is alive and is going to take revenge on the world," I replied sarcastically.

Not fazed he asked, "Well, what would it be like if someone jumped or stomped across it?"

"It would be like someone screaming like a banshee and ruining a person's grave," I replied. He stood up and backed up a few feet on the log.

"Don't do it Cole, you promised!" I said as I made my way toward him.

"Calm down Tara," Cole laughed, "I was just joking." He then ruffled my hair. I growled and backed up. That was when my clumsiness kicked in and I slipped off the log and started plummeting head first into a couple thousand feet deep canyon.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliff hanger, but I like only writing about a thousand words at a time... I really want to try dirtboarding now.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Two chappies a day keeps the angry readers at bay! Warning: I believe the fluff monster has bitten me! You have been warned... :{D**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Water, Fruit, and Fire**

**Cole's POV**

That's Tara for you, gets all mad and full of energy and then trips or falls over. She just happened to be falling into a stinking canyon. I pulled the shirt of my ninja uniform and dove off the log after her. I entered the water perfectly, but once I resurfaced the current had already dragged me ten feet from the previous spot. I scanned the surface and found Tara nowhere to be found.

"Tara! Tara-" I yelled as I was pulled under by a whirlpool. Gagging, I kicked up to the surface and looked around frantically again. I saw her, she was flailing about struggling to stay afloat about fifty feet away. I started sprinting as hard as I could towards her, but she was dragged under by another whirlpool. I waited a few seconds. She wasn't coming up. With adrenaline pumping, I dove underwater and opened my eyes. Everything was blurry but I managed to find Tara. I started to pull her up by from underneath her arms, but she only screamed and released what little oxygen she had left in her lungs. Her foot was stuck between a rock and the floor of the river. How in the world did that happen? I yanked hard on Tara's ankle and her foot dislodged. However, before that I accidentally twisted it at an unnatural angle so her foot could even come out. I wrapped my arms around her waist and brought up both to the surface. Working against the tide, I managed to wade the both of us to shore. We were at least a mile from the log crossing. I laid her gently down on the sand and checked her vitals. Tara was definitely unconscious and her foot was swelling to look like a giant, bulbous, purple grapefruit. That can't be good. Do I perform CPR? I'm not even certified! Agh! I finally made up my mind, closed Tara's nose, and lifted her chin back.

As I leaned in I heard a nasally voice ask, "What the heck are you doing?" Tara's eyes fluttered open and she gave me a hard whack to the head.

"I was trying to save you!" I said defensively as I blushed furiously.

She sat up and poked me in the chest, "My life doesn't need saving! And let me tell you this bucko... wait, why is my foot a grapefruit?" I had to resist the urge to blow up laughing right then and there, she was kinda cute the way she said stuff like that.

"Your foot was caught and I accidentally twisted it so you could, you know, live," I smirked, "And if your life doesn't need saving then why were you drowning?" It was now Tara's turn to blush furiously. She lowered her brown lashed eyes and turned away slightly. Which I started to take notice that she always does that when she doesn't like to admit something. Water dripped from her curls and her eyelashes as she shook her head as if to confirm her thoughts.

"I hate water," Tara said softly, "I don't know how to swim. The water seems to just engulf me and I can't figure out how to escape. And thanks, for saving my drowning butt." Two plants had been growing next to Tara and now they bore fruit. She looked at them in mild surprise. She yanked one off.

"Passion fruit, it probably grew because I was getting frustrated with you. You see, I can only grow plants based on my mind and emotions or my emotions alone. Not by pure mental power," she informed me.

She yanked off something off the other plant and handed it to me, "Habanera pepper, probably because I felt so cold from the water. Try it; you'll at least get the sensation of feeling warm." Tara had already split open the passion fruit and was digging in.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

I was getting really bothered. I had never grown a passion fruit vine in my life when I got angry. That happens A LOT fyi. What emotion could cause it to grow? Oh well. It probably doesn't mean anything, does it? I scooped the insides of my passion fruit up with joy as if it was the last piece of fruit I would ever taste. Cole bit down on his pepper. His eyes grew wide and he started making fanning motions.

"Too hot? Ah! I'msorryIjustdidn'tknowwhattodoand..." I started talking really fast and hopped my way over to the water's edge, took a big handful of it, and splashed it in Cole's face. He just looked at me with slight annoyance as he kept panting.

I sighed, "Yeah, that didn't solve anything, I know. But how do we get back up?" Cole walked over and rammed his scythe into the side of the canyon. A set of rock stairs flopped out before us. I stood up and started hopping over to the stairs. I tripped over the first step and landed on my ankle. I winced. Cole's hand came into my vision and I took it. Once I stood up he crossed his arms and stared me down.

"No, I got it! I can do this by myself!" I told him. I stumbled up a couple more steps. I felt two strong hands grab me by the waist and lift me up. I was now riding on Cole's back.

"I said I got it! Release me fiend!" I said as I pounded his back.

Cole grinned, "You keep telling yourself that. You're starting to sound like Kai." That shut me up.

* * *

**Told ya the Fluffy Monster bit me! FIND A CURE!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Anyone know the difference between views and visitors? I would like to know. This is probably my least fav chappie because I had to explain some stuff you already know.**

*****...words...*** means this is practically from the episode and own little of what is there. All credit there goes to Ninjago.**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Ch 7: Someone help me pick a name!**

**Cole's POV**

When I reached the top of the stairs, we saw Jay. He probably saw me all sweaty from the pepper Tara accidentally made me eat and her still dripping all over the place.

Jay looked at Tara's foot, "Ahh...-"

"You don't want to know," Tara told him, "But for the next couple of days you can probably call me Grapefruit Lady." Jay handed me my shirt and the matter dropped.

* * *

A light layer of frost covered the ground when we trekked to where Kai was waiting for us. The deeper we progressed into the woods, the more snow lay on the ground. I heard a high pitch sneeze and something shivering on my back. I looked over to find Tara's hair completely frozen, her hands turning blue, and her eyelids almost frozen shut. I feel stupid now. Who brings a drenched person into a frozen wasteland?

"Guy's, I think Tara is suffering from a mild case of hypothermia," I informed them.

"Do we send her back?" Jay asked, "It looks like she'll be more of a burden than a help right now. No offense, Tara."

"No..." she said sleepily, "I want to see Zane. We move forward. Together. Can't Kai just make a bonfire or something?"

"With these winds, I don't even think I could make a fire," he responded as we continued. By the time we reached a giant metal door in a tree, Tara's shivering had grown more violent. I figured that the tree had heating, so in a panic I chucked Tara inside instead of taking her down the stairs that I had no clue that were there at that moment. I rushed down the stairs to find Tara sitting on top of a squished Zane. Surprisingly, Tara wasn't mad, which was out of character. She just looked at me with glazed over, expressionless eyes. Zane got out from under Tara and looked at us with expressionless eyes too, except he wasn't suffering from hypothermia.

*******"What's wrong Zane?" Kai asked. Zane's hand reached over and... opened his stomach. A series of lights, cables, and switches were revealed underneath.

"You're a robot?" I questioned.

"All this time," he responded, "and I never knew. The reason why I couldn't comprehend your jokes was my funny switch was turned off."

"This just makes you... special," Kai suggested.

I added, "It will probably even make you a better ninja!"

"And now I can honestly say, 'my brother is a nindroid'," Jay said unhelpfully. That's when Zane kicked us out and asked to be alone for no, I did not chuck Tara back up the tree.*******

Outside I actually got a small smile from Tara.

"It sounds like tree horns are off in the distance," she smiled happily.

Jay looked at her, "Tree horns? Seriously? Now you're just making stuff up."

"No, I saw it on a sign back there. 'Beware of tree horns'," Kai defended when a tree horn kicked him right in the gut.

"You really need to get your hearing checked," I told Tara. I laid her down against a tree, away from any tree horns and unsheathed my scythe.

"Tree horns," she mumbled like an encyclopedia, "territorial but gentle creatures. They love being talked to. The only way to scare them of is by fr-" Tara stopped midsentence and fell unconscious, again.

"Scare them by what? Oh come on!" Jay screamed hysterically. All of the tree horns closed in around Tara.

"What do they want from her?" Kai asked as he beat upon one of the tree horn's legs, to little avail.

I shrugged, "They probably want someone to talk to. Not every person is willing to go up and talk to a tree." This was problematic. I couldn't hurt the tree horns, yet we needed to save Tara. Zane emerged from the shelter and started running to where we were. Simultaneously, a larger, more powerful tree horn emerged from the forest. The queen.

*******"You will not hurt my friends!" he yelled at the queen, "There is nothing that can hold me back. I know who I am!"******* A flash of light surrounded Zane and he was lifted upwards. A beam then shot out and froze the queen. The rest of the tree horns ran off.

"Zane unlocked his full potential!" I announced.

Jay looked over at Tara, "Oh... freeze the queen. Scare them off by freezing the queen. I get it now. Ironic though considering the environment they live in."

* * *

**Back at Destiny's Bounty**

Tara was now wrapped in fifteen blankets and lay asleep like an immoveable log while she defrosted by the fireplace. Exhausted, Jay, Zane, Kai, and I laid down on the floor too.

"She sure is giving us a run for our money, saving our butts, falling unconscious, twisting her ankle, and this is only day one of her training," Kai said. I heard a groan from Jay as he thought of all the work this was going to take.

"Is she really even making us a better team," Jay asked.

"Well, we haven't argued all day with each other, not even over the green ninja," Zane suggested.

"Don't forget that Kai was a lot of work too," I put in.

Kai's eyes narrowed, "Hey!" I started to hear some mumbling coming from the immoveable log, ahem... I mean Grapefruit Lady.

"Looks like Jay is not the only one who talks in his sleep," I told everyone. I leaned over to catch some of what Tara was saying.

"Don't leave... you guys may not need me... but I need you," she muttered as I chuckled. Looks like the only time Tara expresses how she feels is when she sleeps.

I looked at her and said, "Don't worry, we'll always need you."

* * *

**I'm pretty sure at the end Cole means I will always need you, but who knows ;) I'll let you in on a secret... another new character is going to make an appearance. How? You'll have to wait and see.**


	8. Chapter 8

**New chappie. I'm trying to beat my views from yesterday :)**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Drawings and Pandas**

**Tara's POV**

Nya was educating us on different types of venom in class today, except no one was paying attention. Kai stared off into space, Zane stared at his robotic hawk, Jay sat love-struck, ogling at Nya, and Cole was doodling in a sketchbook. I leaned over my seat to get a better look of what he was drawing. It was a self-portrait of him kicking serpentine butt.

"Whoa," I stared, amazed, "Can you teach me how to draw like that?" He nodded and handed over his book and pen casually. I started flipping to a new page.

"No, you're flipping it the wrong way!" he yelled as he tried to take the book back. It was too late, I had flipped the sketchbook open to a pastel and colored pencil version of me. My hands traced over every detail of the creamy paper.

"It's beautiful," I breathed. Every detail and every imperfection was there. He shook his head so some of his hair fell in front of his face and I couldn't see his eyes.

"Just flip it to a new page," he mumbled. I obeyed his words and started sketching. A few minutes passed.

"There! Done!" I gave him a toothy grin. He put his hand on his chin and appeared to be in deep thought.

"An octopus?" he guessed.

I frowned, "Noo. This is you (I pointed to a mess of squiggles). And this is me (I pointed to another jumbled mess). We're holding hands. And down here, see? Right there. It says 'friends forever'. Anyone could see what this picture is, duh." Kai passed by as he was walking back to his seat.

"That's a very nice... rocket ship?" Kai speculated. I gave him my famous death stare.

"Well then, this is the most beautiful art I have ever seen," Cole praised. I beamed at him. I heard laughing later while I was doodling in Cole's book. Something about perfume. Class was dismissed and I saw Zane turn his humor switch off. That reminded me of yesterday. Even though I was in a state of hypothermia, I was still aware of my surroundings. If Zane was a robot, I mean nindroid, then does he even have the capacity for feelings such as love and compassion? Maybe I think too much into things, but I was going to have to ask him about that later. In the meantime, Nya told me that Sensei Wu had instructed her to lay my golden weapon on my bed. I was all jittery with excitement. I ran into my room and saw a small redwood box with gold dragons inscribed on them.

"Please don't be a shovel. Please don't be a shovel," I pleaded as I yanked open the box. It was a small stick. Well, that was disappointing. I was trying to figure out how it worked as a weapon when the stick opened up. Ahhh. It was a fan! Cool... How does that work as a weapon? I traced the blossom design of the fan as my fingers made their way to the base of the fan. A button! I clicked it, razor-sharp metal spokes appeared at the topmost edge of the fan. I started swinging it around pretending I was battling some invisible serpentine army when I accidentally flung it out of the room. I peered outside very, very slowly. Jay was there with the fan just a centimeter above his scalp, and a new haircut.

"I guess we know the weapon works?" I tried to offer up an excuse, "You're all dolled up."

"I'm going on a date," he gloated.

I grinned at him sympathetically, "You might want to fix your hair first." He patted his head to the spot I had gouged some hair out of his head. He started running when I found out there was a second fan in the box to accompany the first. I went up to the cockpit where everyone was.

"Look what I got!" I announced proudly as I stuck both fans up in the air.

"Watch out, she's armed!" Kai said.

I sighed, "Geez guys, I'm pretty sure I can handle my own weapon-" One of the fans slipped from my hands and smashed into the operating system. Note: refrain from talking with your hands.

Kai, getting used to stuff like this, continued with his news, "The bridge picked up serpentine at the local amusement park so we assume that the first fang blade is in those whereabouts.

At the amusement park, I was getting drawn into every attraction, advertisement, over-priced game there was.

"Come on Tara, this isn't time for games," Cole told me. I wasn't paying attention. My eyes were glued to one of the attractions. I tugged on Zane's white uniform and pointed. He nodded in understanding. I flashed one of the biggest smiles known to man and attacked Zane in a bear hug. He gently guided me off of him as he walked over to the attraction: It was one of those dart games where you only have three darts and try to hit the highest valued balloons. Zane's eyes turned a weird blue-green color and I knew he was using his nindroid powers to calculate trajectory and other fancy physic equations. A few seconds later, he was pointing to the prize I wanted: a giant, fluffy panda bear. He came back and next thing you know I was snuggling against a panda. He smiled at the rest of the team sheepishly, unable to come up with an excuse to why he just did what he did.

"Now where could the serpentine be," Kai asked, trying to get us back on track.

I pointed behind him to an attraction where a bunch of people were running out screaming, "They're probably in there."

* * *

**Kai's POV**

Although delayed, we were finally stealthily creeping toward the serpentine to stop them from getting the first fang blade. I turned around to do a head count. Jay was off on his date. Let's see, one... two... where was Tara? I saw no glimpse of her purple uniform anywhere. I then heard a very girlish scream behind me. I turned around and expected to see Tara. Only to find Cole scared out of his wits and a white sheet with two eyeholes.

"What? Scared of ghosts?" Tara asked Cole from underneath the sheet, "We need to dress the part if we're going all incognito here." Her eyes laughed through the two small holes she cut through the fabric.

"Although you are right, if Cole keeps screaming like a girl, we'll get nowhere," Zane stated. Only Tara and I laughed.

Tara rolled her eyes, "Your funny switch Zane." He flicked his funny switch.

"Oh, now I get it. Ha, ha."

* * *

**My OC will appear next chapter. REVIEW OR KEEP VIEWING! :D Luv ya guys! Hopefully this chappie makes up for the last one.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Announcement: Hey dedicated and loyal readers who have kept up with me this far! I know you expected a new chapter, but don't stop reading, I bring good news! I am a little disappointed with how many views and reviews I am getting for my new chapters. I post two a day! I really love writing for you guys, but it's sad to see a Ninjago story with more views, review, and followers than I do with just one chapter. Am I doing something wrong? So here's the proposal: I want 1,250 views or 30 reviews after my next two chapters. So that means by midnight July 24th Central Time Zone. What's in it for you? A marathon of chapters on the 28th. One Chappie on the hour from 9-11 (lunch break) 1-5 (dinner break) and 7-8 Central Time Zone. Are you up for the challenge?**

**PS: this will be posted on my profile and I will ask ch1 newbies to look at it. PM me with any questions.**


	10. Chapter 10

**15 reviews in 2 chapters, can you do it? (I don't know the views but I think it's in the 700's)**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Kiss-less**

**Tara's POV:**

I inched closer to the edge of the crumbling stone wall and cautiously peered over the corner. There were serpentine as far as the eye could see, swarms of different tribes all gathered together for a blade... and a girl? Last time I checked girls weren't snakes. I looked down at myself and checked my hands, feet, everything. Yup, not a snake. Kai gave us the go-ahead to storm the place and I rushed out there with the most menacing look I could manage. Considering I still had my costume on. It probably just looked like a sheet running towards them yelling, "Rawr!" every few seconds. I skidded to a halt in front of the girl before I plowed into her. She had long, straight, chestnut brown hair and piercing jade green eyes. She started laughing at me. I flipped off the top of my costume and gave her a long level look. I broke my stare when I heard some commotion behind her.

"Where is it?" an unnaturally large purple snake screamed, "The first fang blade is supposed to be right here!" I guess he hadn't noticed our big entrance because he finally whirled around and acted like we just entered.

"You ninja! You stole the fang blade! Serpentine attack!" the only purple snake, I think the others called him Pythor once or twice, yelled at his minions. I looked behind me and mouthed to Kai: _Fang blade?_ He wore the same clueless expression that I had and shook his head. I should of thought things through more than I did because I left myself wide open and received a roundhouse kick from that infuriating girl. She sneered and backed up with each punch I tried to land on her. She was playing cat and mouse with me! Sure I haven't been trained nearly whatsoever, but I should at least be able to land a punch!

"I don't have the time to play games with you," she told me as she tried to back flip to another opponent. She doesn't think I'm good enough? Fury spread throughout my body and made me tingle with every step I took towards her. I started to kick anything that was in my way with my eyes locked onto my target.

Everyone else on the team must have been working hard to defeat the serpentine, because a few seconds later I heard Pythor order, "Retreat!" Hordes of serpentine rushed by me and I lost sight of the girl, I saw a glimpse of white fabric stand out in all the mess, so I inched my way over. When the chaos cleared I spotted the girl still there, fighting Kai. She wasn't even using a weapon. However, she had some strange black stuff on the end of her hands that she contorted into different shapes to attack.

I asked Zane, "What the heck is that stuff?"

"It appears to be shadow work. The user contorts shadows into various figures or objects as weapons. It can make solid contact with objects, but cannot be damaged. It's like an unsolvable puzzle," he explained. I turned my attention back to the fight and noticed how badly Kai was losing. I was about to step in... but then she kissed him! Not just on the cheek or anything, but a full kiss on the mouth! She doesn't even know him! I looked at Zane and Cole and saw their mouths had dropped open and they were blushing to the point where they looked like fire hydrants. I felt my cheeks start to burn.

(WHACK!) (WHACK!)

"Oww... what was that for!" the yelled simultaneously.

"I don't know... your heads just looked like they both could use a good whack to the head," I rapped my knuckles on both their heads, "because clearly nothing is working properly up there!" I turned back to Kai and the girl. In mid-kiss, the girl had reached behind Kai and grabbed his golden sword! It was all part of her plan! Now I was past the point of infuriation and fury, now I was feeling pure rage.

* * *

**Zane's POV**

Poison ivy had started to grow steadily around Tara as she marched to the girl who was escaping. One vine climbed up the other girl's leg, then another, and another, until she was fully wrapped in a constricting, poison cocoon. But the ivy didn't stop, it continued to spread and spread to the point where it touched our feet.

"Tara! Use your golden weapons to control the ivy! This is getting out of hand," I yelled at her. Tara seemed to jerk back into reality and brought her golden weapons out, with a few sweeping motions and a lot of effort, she managed to make the ivy retreat back a couple feet. Although as a nindroid I am not allergic to poison ivy, it was still too close for comfort for Cole and Kai.

"I wasn't playing games with you," Tara growled at the trapped girl.

"Too bad," she responded with a wicked grin, "because I seem to remember in games that fire always beats grass." With that said, she slashed through the ivy in one swipe of Kai's sword. I noticed Tara winced as the ivy started burned away. What's up with that? The girl twirled the sword around and waved it at us.

"Better luck next time. But until you return the fang blade to Pythor, I'm," she winked at Kai, "keeping this." She then enveloped herself in shadows and disappeared.

* * *

***Back at Destiny's Bounty* Tara's POV**

In the time that I had locked up that devil woman in poison ivy, Jay unlocked his full potential, Nya revealed she was the samurai, and Nya kissed Jay. I didn't really know what the whole samurai thing was about, but as for that kiss... I was going to have to press Nya for details later. Geez, it seemed like I was the only girl who hasn't kissed someone today.

"I think my stomach just devoured itself," I informed Jay. "Who's cooking?"

"You won't have that appetite for long, Cole's cooking tonight," Jay laughed at me good-naturedly.

"Dinner!" Cole announced ecstatically as he came into the dining room with a little chef's hat on his head and a big pot. When the pot passed me, a series of foul odors and other unpleasant aromas wafted up to my nose.

He set down the dish and took the lid off, "Bon appetite! Frog eye lasagna!" Cole handed everyone an enormous portion and looked at us expectantly. Kai and Jay immediately ran outside and dumped theirs overboard, hitting a few pedestrians below, Nya pretended to accidentally drop each bite on the floor, and Zane turned his taste switch off and dug in. I stared at the fatty gelatin like mess on my plate and saw something twitch and move inside. I then looked at Cole and saw his crestfallen face.

"Seconds!" I announced as I showed my squeakie clean plate to him. His eyes shone once more as he enthusiastically plopped another serving of our... meal... on my plate. My stomach was going to hate me after this.

Three servings and one food poisoned stomach later, dinner was finally over.

"So if we don't have the first fang blade, and they don't have it, where could it be?" Kai mused. I thought about it for a while and a picture popped in my head.

"It's at a dance, I'm sure of it," I smiled at them.

* * *

**I want your input, should the dance be Kimonos or Dresses? You know what to do! Review! Your criticism has been astounding lately! (Gives out chocolate cookie) Yay :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Nearing 800 views ppl! I decided to lower my standards to 1000 views by midnight or if you don't manage to get all 30 reviews (the button's right down there ppl, you can tell me my grammar stinks and why and I would love your review) but each review after 20 will contribute to one chappie to the marathon. 20 reviews= 0 chappies 25 chappies= 5 chappies. I really want to do this marathon if you can't tell ;)**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Dance**

***one week later* Cole's POV**

Vest: check. Tux: check. Check. Check. Check. All good! I looked over at Tara, her curls were pinned up with tiny sparkly pins into a artsy bun so that whichever way she turned it looked like she had a golden halo resting on her head. Her blue grey eyes were accented with a metallic brown mascara that brought out specks of green and bright blue from her eyes. Her kimono had a light purple underneath and a dark purple on top with a gold leafing pattern across the satin fabric. Tara was utterly breathtaking. She pivoted on her sandal and grinned in my direction. Then Zane walked up from behind me, lent out his arm, and guided her inside the city party. Why did Zane get to be her escort for the dance again? Just because some higher class Ninjago royalty needed bodyguards for the dance did not mean Kai and I had to accept! Jay and Nya, or what I would like to call 'the blue couple' headed inside. A few minutes later the royalty came and I escorted them inside. Kai was ordered to stay outside and guard the perimeter.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Oh golly I don't belong here. I gazed up at the mile high marble ceilings, priceless exotic plants that lined the walls, and gorgeous paper lanterns that were used as a light source.

"It will be a miracle if we win the dance's prince and princess to get the fang blade that's on the crown. Even Nya and Jay would have a better chance due to the way he dresses on dates. As for the crown I think it's a little ridiculous to wear a weapon on your head and not know it," I told Zane.

"What makes you think that?" he asked, "I think we have an excellent chance considering that beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I just rolled my eyes at his cheesy line and dragged him up to the stage. All of the couples... and some ninja... were up on the stage. Spotlights went on all 5 groups of two. I squinted into the audience, I could barely make out a few strangers. The announcer babbled on about what the couples see in each other. I didn't really pay attention until they got to Zane and I.

"Zane couldn't have enough paper in the world to write all the things he enjoys in Tara. He likes her clumsiness, how she attempts to act tough, and how she's united his family," the announcer quoted. I looked up at Zane, he just stared into the crowd with a straight face. He didn't have to lay it on that thick! Or was he just telling what he felt? I tried to remember what I put down, if I meant it, and how much of a fool I would look like from it. I was so spaced out that I didn't hear what the announcer said! My brow furrowed and I frowned, what if I wrote complete crap? I felt some pressure on my hand. I looked up and Zane was smiling at the audience now. Just like that and we were holding hands. My brain fizzled and shorted out. Thank goodness.

"Everyone cast your votes!" the announcer said with fake excitement. The audience pulled out little electronic devices and clicked on whom they wanted to win.

One by one, the spotlights started to dim out. First one then another and another. There was only Zane and I, Nya and Jay, and another couple. It seemed like forever until another light dimmed. It was our light. We had a fifty/fifty shot of getting the fang blade now. The announcer opened up the winner's envelope at a painfully slow speed.

"And the winners are Jay and Nya," he proclaimed. Some elderly woman stepped up and crowned Jay and Nya.

"You know, that silly crown fits Jay perfectly," I told Zane.

"Indeed," he agreed, "Shall we dance?" He extended out a hand.

"Why certainly," I bowed with some grace and poise. He grabbed my hand and led me to the floor.

"Did you really mean all those things the announcer said back there? Or were you just playing the audience and used your robot powers to know what cheesy things would please them the most?" I interrogated. He opened his mouth to speak when yelling came over our earpieces.

"The Venomari are here. They're about storm the building!" Kai yelled into our throbbing eardrums. I heard an explosion behind me. Now the real party started.

* * *

**Cole's POV**

The annoying Venomari were everywhere! And the snotty royalty trying to tell me how to defeat them wasn't helping either. There were too many! I scanned the area. Zane and Tara were being closed in on and Nya and Jay were already cornered. I started running towards them.

"Hey, get back here! We paid you to protect us!" I heard my employer scream from behind me.

I yelled back, "Sorry! No matter how much money you pay me I would always pick them over you!" I had made it to Zane and Tara. I picked Tara up bridal style.

"I'll be taking her now," I told Zane, "Ninja-go!"

I started spinjitzu when I heard Jay yell out, "Catch!" I saw the crown spinning towards me and I jumped and caught it. I heard mumbled screaming coming from Tara as she tried to dislodge herself from me. I started spinning over to the balcony and, without hesitation, jumped off. When we landed, I set Tara down and she started coughing on dirt from the tornado.

"I told you to let me go! I have been working on my spinjitzu!" she frowned. Her hair was undone and in a curly, windblown mess with dirt covering her from head to toe.

"You're still not that great at it and you're very uncontrolled. Anyway, what was important was making sure that the fang blade was safe," I told her as I shoved the crown into her hands.

"Oh and by the way, everyone else may like you better dolled up, but I like you best when you're like this," I motioned to her outfit as I went back into the building.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

He was just making excuses so I couldn't fight! What is with people today! I heard a noise and spun around. Kai jumped of the rooftop and was making his way toward me. He motioned for the crown which I gave to him.

"I'll look after the fang blade, I think you know that you can destroy in that fight up there," he told me. He grinned.

"You don't need to tell me twice," I responded as I climbed up onto the balcony. I rushed inside to find no fight, just a bunch of Venomari tied up and a severely broken floor. Cole knows me too well! He knew I would try to come back up here so he finished the fight and left none for me! I clicked a button on my earpiece.

"Kai, you can come up, it's already over." No response. I ran to the balcony and looked over the edge to find a small earpiece nestled in the grass. Oh no.

Some words echoed in my head as I thought about a week back: "Better luck next time. But until you return the fang blade to Pythor, I'm keeping this."

I was going to kill that red pepper next time I saw him.

* * *

**Mwahahahaha! I had a brainfart for an hour in the middle of this chappie, it was really annoying. :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**I would like to give a giant round of applause to all the readers out there! We reached 970views and 25 reviews. (I fell asleep before midnight so I just took whatever #'s were there when I woke up.) That means I owe you guys 5 chapters on Saturday!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Track and Crash**

**Tara's POV**

I sprinted as fast as I could into the game room, tripping over the rug right when I was about to enter the doorway. I bounced back up and saw four sets of eyes staring at me.

"Look what I found!" I jumped excitedly as I pulled my new prized possession out from behind me.

"A bush... that's nice," Nya commented. The "bush" started to squirm, clearly not liking the name it was given.

"No, it's my new puppy! It just happens to shed blueberries..." I told them, "Nya had told me about your dragons and I thought of how awesome it would be if I could have a pet too. Then this guy shows up!" The dog jumped out of my hands and started to greet everyone.

"So every time we see something on the floor we need to make sure it's not a blueberry," Jay said while petting the puppy's leafy "fur".

I responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Of course not, you just gather all the blueberries before he sheds them and then you can make delicious blueberry pie!"

"Have you named it?" Zane asked.

"Not yet, that's why I came in here to ask you guys for suggestions... Sorry, he hasn't been potty trained yet," I mentioned while Cole looked disdainfully at his soiled outfit.

"While this news is great and all," he frowned at his shirt (maybe he thought if he frowned at it hard enough the spot would magically go away?), "how are we going to find Kai, it's not like we put trackers on our teammates."

"Oh that was the other thing I came in here for! Out of all the things he," I motioned towards my dog, "isn't trained in, turns out he is an excellent tracker." I didn't want to go into the details of how I exactly found that out. Let's just say someone decided to hide the fruit from me and I was not a very happy camper.

* * *

We were departing on our mission to find Kai in around five minutes. I was already packed and ready to go so I headed over to Nya's room.

"Hey Tara, need something?" she asked kindly. With the boys not letting Nya come with on our mission, she seemed to be handling it fairly well.

"Not really... Congrats on winning at the party yesterday," I said. That's me, I just flow right into one conversation into another. I was going t need to work on that.

"You shouldn't really be congratulating us. Jay built all those voting devices at the party. He programmed them so that no matter whom you voted for, four out of five times it would choose us. He wanted to make sure we would get the fang blade. I believe if the voting wasn't rigged, you and Zane would have won hands down," Nya said informatively.

"Speaking of which," I asked cautiously, "what exactly did I say about Zane at the awards?"

Nya's eyes lit up as she got closer to me as if to tell a secret, "That was so cute! You said that meeting Zane was one of the best things that ever happened to you!" I looked at her aghast. I remember writing that down now; why would I write something so cheesy? I put my hand over my heated face to hide some of my embarrassment and practically flew out of the room.

(Smack!)

I clenched both hands to my head to make the world stop shaking. I could make a smudge of blue a few feet away. Jay must have been heading to Nya's room too.

"Geez, watch where you're going Tara!" he yelled at me. The Jay saw my pink face and wide eyes. I bit my lip nervously as he tried to recall what would make me so humiliated. Understanding lit his face.

"Oh... that," he remembered as he pulled me off the floor, "Don't worry about it. You were just playing it up for the crowd. Come on, would kicking Kai's sorry butt around make you feel better?" I gave a small nod and he led me to the others. He only got it half-right. Sure, I had wanted to play the audience a little, but I truly meant every word I wrote.

* * *

"Snow! It always has to be snow!" Jay complained as we moved through the Frozen Wasteland. My dog (I think I'm just going to call him Mr. B), the only one immune to Jay's whining, sniffed a piece of Kai's clothing, then poked his head in the snow and trotted forward.

"I don't believe there is anything wrong with the snow," Zane replied.

Cole stared at him, "Of course you do! Your element is this entire stinking wasteland!" I peered up at the sky and saw aurora blanketing the sky. I watched as the colors shifted from green to pink to blue.

"I wouldn't call it a wasteland, places like these can be pretty magical," I thought aloud. We hadn't really paid attention to where we were going, we just followed Mr. B. When we finally noticed we were standing on top of a frozen lake, it was too late. The shattered and we all plunged into freezing cold water.

Okay, not so magical.

* * *

**Should I rename Mr. B? I couldn't come up with anything cool... :,(**


	13. Chapter 13

**Another chappie... Another comment on relationships. If it completely swings one way one moment, it might swing back the other way in the next chapter. So hold those angry reviews! :D P.S.: I have decided who Tara is going to be with. You won't find out until the last couple chapters!**

**1,000 views! Party!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Tara's POV**

I clawed desperately at my throat for some sort of relief for my lungs to breathe air. I tried kicking to the surface, but I ended up kicking up to part of the lake covered in ice. I felt something wrap around me. My first thought was it must be an octopus so I kicked blindly for it to release me. It wouldn't let go! Then I felt a cold breeze against my face. I had surfaced! A miracle! I looked over at the thing that latched onto me. It was Cole, with a swelling black eye.

"How many times am I going to have to save you before I don't get beat up?" he asked with raised eyebrows. I grinned at him. He was truly the other best thing that has ever happened to me.

"I don't know... I'm not the type of girl that likes to play damsel in distress," I said as he let me down.

"Good thing I installed climate control devices into our outfits or else we would all be suffering from hypothermia right now," Jay gloated. Mr. B sniffed at me.

"Oh," I translated, "Mr. B says he accidentally led us the wrong way."

"...Mr. B?" Zane asked.

"Wrong way?" Jay and Cole yelled simultaneously.

* * *

"I could have guessed that they would be in the City of Ouroboros," Jay declared hotly. Something dropped down from the wall. It was Kai. He had his golden weapon on his back and no fang blade.

"You idiot!" I yelled at him, "That girl played you like a violin!" He smiled sheepishly back at me.

"But, full potential..." he pouted with big doe eyes. I raised my fist and he flinched.

"Two for flinching," I told him as I gave him two harsh punches on the arm.

Jay thought, "You know, if Tara's dog wouldn't have led us on a wild goose chase, we might of been able to stop Kai from acting so densely." So now this is all my fault! Kai just smirked at me.

"Boys..." I muttered under my breath while shrugging my shoulders.

* * *

With a quick surveillance of the area, the team decided there were too many serpentine to take back the fang blade and we returned to the Destiny's Bounty. Nya was busy hanging strange colored lights and dried mistletoe underneath doorways.

"Oh man! I forgot about Christmas coming up! It's going to be weird not celebrating it with Sensei Wu," Jay inquired.

"What's Christmas?" I asked innocently. Everyone looked at me like I had turned into a Fangpyre.

"You mean you never have celebrated Christmas?" Nya asked. I shook my head, wondering what this whimsical seeming celebration was all about.

"It is a Christian holiday celebrating Christ's birth. Typically you do an exchanging of presents the day of and decorate a tree that you pick out," Zane recited.

"Wait," I thought, "Is the tree chopped down in order to celebrate?"

"Typically, yes" Zane responded.

"Worst. Holiday. Ever," I declared and went back to doodling with crayons.

"Come on Tara, Christmas is amazing! We'll use a potted plant and even make cookies for Santa," Cole proposed.

"Santa?" I asked. Kai glared at Cole.

"What have you done! We just got Jay out of this phase!" Kai yelled at him. Nya giggled.

"Santa is a man who comes into your house at the middle of the night, eats the cookies you work so hard making for him, and leaves you presents on Christmas if you've been good person all year round," Cole continued, painting a detailed picture in my mind.

"So he breaks and enters and steals all of your cookies. Unless Cole bakes them, then Santa would probably never touch them. Do you really want that type of person coming into your house Tara?" Kai asked, trying to sway my decision.

"Yeah I do!" I replied enthusiastically. The floorboards underneath Kai started to char as he shot laser eyes in Cole's direction.

Nya guided me away from the group and suggested, "How about we do some last minute shopping for Christmas before Kai has a meltdown, shall we?"

* * *

**Kai's POV**

I was going to have to dress up as Santa again! I groaned inwardly as I glowered at Cole.

"Do you know how awkward it was to have Jay cling to me last year? Cole you better not bake any cookies this year. You know what happened to Sensei! He was in the hospital for a month. A month!" I said, losing my composure.

"I won't cook for a whole month after Christmas," Cole offered. Zane and Jay drilled holes into the back of my head, urging for me to take the offer.

I huffed, "Fine." Darn Cole's inedible food! I went to my room and thought back to what happened in the City of Ouroboros.

_"Why are you working for them?" I asked her. Her eyes narrowed and studied me._

_"Why should I tell you?" she asked off-handedly._

_I laughed, unfazed by her glare, "I believe the question is: why shouldn't you tell me?" She opened her mouth to retort, but closed it._

_"Pythor saved me," she explained bluntly, "I am now forever in his debt."_

_"Soo, if I save you you'll stop working for him?" I pressed. She brought my golden weapon to my neck and stared at me. I looked away first._

_"Get out of here before you get you get yourself killed, lover boy," she smirked as she dropped the weapon at my feet. I stared after her retreating figure._

"Lover boy, huh?" I mused at the ceiling, "Well I guess she got that right." I got up and stretched and then went to the game room. I saw Tara sitting on the couch, waiting for something patiently. I guess they finished shopping.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Waiting for Santa," she responded with complete seriousness, "See? Jay's waiting too." I noticed Jay sitting on the other couch with teddy bear and nunchucks in hand.

"Jay we went over this-" I started.

"No you didn't," he cut me off. Staring excitedly at the potted tree in the corner. Tara and I used to agree on one thing.

Worst. Holiday. Ever.

* * *

**I love Christmas btw. Kai is just having his little Grinch moment.**


	14. Chapter 14

**So here's more fluff before we get back on track to the plot line. This was one of the more fun chappies to write.**

**P.S. I think competitive swimming should be considered a contact sport sometimes. I get hurt **_**a lot**_**. I was even voted most likely to get a black eye in a non-contact sport... which I did. And yesterday our whole team was getting all bloody and bruised before our championship meet! But we swam on!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Christmas pt. 1**

**Kai's POV**

"The red ninja just has to be Santa," I grumbled as I tipped-toed down the stairs and headed toward the game room, sporting my ridiculous costume. I had on the beard we used to impersonate Sensei Wu, a fluffy red trench coat, and fifty pillows in places I did not want to know. When I entered the room, I noticed both Jay and Tara were both asleep. While Tara curled up into a ball on her couch, Jay sprawled out on his, drooling, with his bear thrown halfway across the room. Both were talking in their sleep. I took the sack off my shoulder and started unloading the presents.

"Santa?" I heard behind me. Tara stared at me unfocusedly while trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"No, I mean yeah, it's Santa, now go back to bed," I caved while I gave her a pat on the head. Jay hearing the commotion woke up also.

"Santa!" he said gleefully as he tried to attach onto me. This move had been used on me before, so I came prepared this time.

(Smack!)

Ahh... the sweet sound of Jay's head hitting a frying pan. I looked at him on the ground. He was out cold. Tara was looking at me with wide eyes.

"Uh... Santa only does this to the children who have been on his naughty list a long time," I fumbled an excuse.

She grinned, "Don't worry, Kai already told me about that, Santa." She curled back up on the couch, satisfied with seeing Santa. I then approached the last obstacle. The cookies. They looked fit for human consumption, nothing alive in them anyway. I bit into one. I immediately spat it out. Cole promised not to bake the cookies this year! How can Cole make cookies taste like rotten fish? I checked to make sure no fish eggs were in the cookies before I retreated back to my room.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

I stared at the cookies that had been left for Santa. Only one had a small nibblet taken out of it.

"He didn't eat my cookies!" I frowned with both hands on my hips. Kai stopped in the middle of the doorway.

He choked, "Your cookies?" I rolled my eyes.

"Well yeah," I responded, "I made them lactose, glucose, and sugar free. They're also vegan! I didn't know what kind of allergies Santa had or if he was lactose intolerant, so I covered all the major stuff."

"I'm pretty sure Santa would have appreciated puffing up like a balloon to an allergic reaction than tasting tofu cookies," he informed me.

I puffed my cheeks out at him, "What do you know?"

* * *

**Jay's POV**

We all sat around the tree in our pajamas, ready to exchange gifts.

"I'll go first!" I announced as I handed the presents out to everyone.

Zane opened his first, "How thoughtful Jay, a 'nindroid malfunction fixing coupon'. I was running low on these." I had given some out when we first found out he was a nindroid, but he seems to malfunction quite frequently.

Kai opened his next, "A murse, really?"

"A man purse! This ad said it was perfect for 'active men who are always on the go'. And I thought, 'I know someone like that!' Ta-da!" I defended. Cole went next. He tore open his paper to reveal...

"A rock?" he asked.

"A space rock! I thought you could try to mold it into different shapes!" I explained. Tara went last.

"Psychology of Men 101," she read the title aloud.

"Yeah! You always say stupid stuff must always be going around in our heads and you wanted to find out, so here you go!" I told her. I then experienced a terrible flashback:

_I opened up Sensei Wu's secret box of stuff and retrieved a book from the deepest depths of it._

_"Fifty Shades of Gray! This will be perfect for Tara!" I exclaimed. The room grew cold and a dark shadow grew on the wall. Shaking, I turned around very, very slowly. It was Cole; his black eyes looked almost soulless._

_"Are you trying to corrupt her!" his voice boomed throughout the room as he shook me like a ragdoll._

_"She wanted to understand boys better! I didn't know! I'll get her a dart board with Kai's face on it instead!" I pleaded for mercy. However, the judge had already made his ruling. And in this court, torture was completely acceptable. That is how I ended up dangling from a rope off the side of Destiny's Bounty for a nine-hour flight._

I shook myself back to reality when Tara asked, "Did you get anything for Nya?"

"We're going on a date tonight, she'll get my present then," I responded. Now it was my turn to open all of my gifts.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Jay ended up getting "Jokes for Dummies" volumes one, two, and three from Kai, Cole, and Zane, hypoallergenic cologne from me, and "1000 Ways to Screw Up a Date" from Santa. Zane offered to go next. Kai opened his box to reveal the newest frying pan on the market.

"I'm going to love using this next year," he told everyone deviously. Nya opened her's.

"A swatch chart of all the hues and shades of blue!" Nya jumped for joy. She really must like blue. Cole opened his.

"Cooking classes with Zane: How to make food edible," Cole read. Everyone cheered for that gift. I looked at my violet box that was so neatly wrapped. I carefully tore the wrapping paper off and lifted the lid.

"A Venus Flytrap, a rare plant on Ninjago that consumes bugs," he stated proudly. I stared in fascination at it.

"Wow..." I said, still speechless.

"Now we have somewhere else to put Cole's cooking," Kai suggested. I handed my poorly wrapped present to Zane first. The metallic wrapping was crumpled everywhere, but I did my best. He carefully unwrapped it as if ceramic dolls would lie underneath. He pulled out a picture frame. It was the picture of us at the dance.

"Thank you..." he managed before Kai cut in.

"How can you wrap a picture frame so terribly?" he asked.

"I don't know," I responded, "Same reason why you're so annoying. It comes naturally." He glared at me. By the time we had finished our staring contest, in which I, of course, was the winner, it was time for someone else to go.

"I'll go!" I volunteered while holding the rest of my poorly wrapped presents to the sky proudly. I gave Nya's gift out first.

"A new red dress!" she exclaimed.

"To make up for the one I... ruined," I mumbled. Kai got his next.

"A 'don't get beaten up by Tara' card. Thanks, I needed one of these," he laughed. Cole would open his present next.

I wondered if he would even like what I got him.

* * *

**Okay, I know that was a bad stopping point, but I needed to break Christmas into two parts... Was a reference to 50 Shades of Grey too suggestive? I thought the way Cole handled it was pretty funny. I am now on the 2nd page of top Ninjago review stories! Woot-woot!**


	15. Chapter 15

**(dances) I got a new haircut! It's really short like Tara's! It's really weird getting used to it. Sorry for the short chapter!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Christmas pt. 2**

**Cole's POV**

I opened the lid of the box delicately and lifted the contents from the box. There was a black velvet sketchpad with high quality grain paper, watercolors, inks, every medium you could imagine.

She scratched her head and looked away, "I thought you might want some new art supplies, you're amazing at it." She jittered nervously and her eyes darted to everywhere but my face. I put my arm around her and pulled her into a side hug.

"It's perfect. I love it," I whispered into her ear. She practically leapt out of my arms and blushed. Kai tried to save her from any more embarrassment and handed her a present. She completely shifted gears and returned to a super hyperactive child having their first Christmas ever. She tore the wrapping paper apart aggressively, I wasn't sure a present would be left under there after she was through with it.

"You don't have any weapons besides your golden weapon. I thought if anything would happen to it then you would need more fans," Kai explained.

"Practical. Thanks, I'll use these all the time," she grinned.

"I believe Santa left you something, Tara," Zane said as he pulled a giant lump out from behind the tree. She shook it and tried to guess what was inside. Giving up, she ripped up the paper.

"A ninja outfit to go on my stuffed panda, its limited edition!" she jumped in excitement. If she liked that gift, she was going to love what I got her.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Cole handed me a long rectangular present. I opened it carefully. Unlatching the tape from the sides and pulling the present out from underneath. It was a dish. Of food. I stared at it a long time before I looked at Cole in a questioning manner.

"No one ever likes my food, but you seemed to love my frog eye lasagna," he clarified while rubbing the back of his head, "so I made you a whole dish of it because you love it so much!" He grinned while my mouth dropped open. I closed it. I looked back and forth from the dish to him. Dish. Him. Dish. Him. I lifted up the heavy dish and plastered the biggest smile I could manage, then I shoved the crap right into his face.

"Idiot!" I yelled while I ran to my room and slammed the door. Another set of footsteps quickly followed and knocked harshly on the door.

"Tara, open up!" Cole's muffled voice sounded. I stormed over, opened the door, and blocked the door way. I got up on my tiptoes and scowled while staring at his saddening face.

"What. Do. You. Want?" I replied, my voice steel. He ran a hand through his face tiredly and sighed in frustration.

"...Look, I thought you liked what I made for you. I guess I got too excited because no one ever does," he started.

"Well that should have tipped you off. Did you really think someone would like something with frog eyes in it? Do you think you can just read my mind and know what I'm thinking?" I pressed as heat rose to my face.

"No but-" he started to answer, but I cut him off.

"Well, great then. Maybe you can read my mind right now," I told him as my raised voice fell to a whisper. I stared at him intently for a few moments with rage in my eyes as he looked at me helplessly. I had thought really hard about how much I liked him, but apparently the message wasn't getting across clearly. I thought of how I told him what I was afraid of, how he always cared for me, and how many times he had saved my butt. I shook my head so that my hair fell in front of my face and he couldn't see the tears that welled up in my eyes as I slammed the door in his face.

* * *

**Cole's POV**

She twisted my words! How am I supposed to read minds? No one can! I returned to the game room and Jay smiled at me.

"We'll that could have been seen from a mile away," he said.

Zane agreed, "Indeed." I decided to go back to Tara's room and try to talk to her again.

Knocking on her door, I called out her name, "Tara? Tara!" No response. I tried to move the doorknob, but it was locked. I frowned as I took a few steps back and rammed into the door, tearing it off its hinges and knocking it to the ground. I looked around. Her room was bare except the giant panda from Zane, the book from Jay, and the fans from Kai. I smacked my head. Tara probably just wanted something that would remind her of me. I looked at her drawing she had on the wall. She had gotten better. She already had pictures of Kai, Zane, and Jay up. There was a pile in the trashcan of old drawings. They were all of me. Each one had a giant "X" through them and side notes such as "nose too big", "mouth not right", and a personal favorite "not Cole enough". I was missing the big picture. The window had been shattered open, and Tara was nowhere to be found.

* * *

**I only got one awesome review from someone last chappie. That's all I'm sayin. -_-**


	16. Chapter 16

**The marathon will probably start at one tomorrow; I'm watching the Olympics with my friends and won't get home until noon. Thank you for your understanding.  
I don't own Lego or Ninjago.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Truth**

**Tara's POV**

Bound at the hands and feet and gagged while being dragged through a bog is not my idea of a perfect Christmas. The serpentine that had been dragging me came to an abrupt halt. The girl who stole Kai's blade towered above me and motioned to dome of vines that encompassed an island. One of the serpentine took a whack at the vines. The immediately grew back.

"Open them," she commanded. I mumbled incoherent words from my gag. She undid it so I could speak.

"In your dreams," I glared. She spun her hands a couple times and created a shadow sword and brought it to my neck threateningly.

"If you know what I think you know, we both know hurting me won't help," I frowned at the sword. She sighed, acknowledging her first plan hadn't worked. She pulled something out from her pocket and brought it close to my face. My eyes widened in surprise and horror.

"What if," she proposed, "I released a bunch of these? That would certainly hurt you. Will you cave then?" she almost purred at the thought of the destruction she could cause.

I smiled sadly, "I wouldn't help you even if you released that. What good will it do when I can't open the vines?"

She shrugged, "Your funeral." That ended the conversation and they left me, stranded in a bog. I heard engines above me. I looked into the sky to see the Destiny's Bounty coming into a descent. Well how did they find me? Cole jumped off the ship before it landed and ran towards me, panting. He looked mad that he hadn't known where I was but glad he found me.

"Why did you leave!" he yelled at me. I tried to think of something that would worry Cole the least.

"I um... went on a walk? Yeah, let's go with that," I fumbled. His brow crinkled.

"So, let me get this straight," he said with a raising voice, "You want me to believe you jumped off our ship _that was in flight_ just to go on a fifty mile walk that no one can complete in two hours?" Yup, should have thought that through a little more than I did. I just started walking to the ship. Cole grabbed my hand and held me back.

"We're not done talking, Tara," Cole said with a dangerously low voice. I yanked my hand away and rubbed the red mark he made on my wrist.

"Oh yeah? Well I believe it just ended. Why are you mad anyways? If anything, I should be mad at you!" I spat. He didn't follow me as I walked away this time.

He stared at the ground and I could barely hear him whisper, "I just want to know the truth Tara. Why won't you tell me the truth?" That hit me like a stonewall. I pivoted on one foot and marched up to him, put my hand on his forehead, and forced him to look at me.

"You want to know why I don't tell you the truth?" I asked him. "Maybe because I don't want you worried or sad! If I told you, you'd get overprotective again and place me in a cage or something! The truth is, I hate your frog eye lasagna, I just want something that reminds me of you for Christmas, and... I... I l-l-like you! You're stupid, strong, kind, courageous, a terrible cook... but I like you!" My face was a terrible shade of pink. Wait... what did I say? The little me inside my head started running around in circles as my brain exploded. Cole's eyes widened. I didn't wait for a response as I practically ran onto the ship. He may be stupid. But look at me, I just acted like a complete idiot.

* * *

**Cole's POV**

That could have went better... However, inside I was practically giddy and jumping for joy. I got back on the ship and tried to exude calmness. I was met with four lawn chairs, with Kai, Zane, Jay, and Nya on them, sharing popcorn. Where did they get that popcorn from? They all applauded.

"Great show!" Jay clapped.

Kai agreed, "Deserved an Emmy."

"Shut up," I retorted. I walked to Tara's room and knocked on the door. No response. I went to my room, grabbed a couple things and returned to the door. I looked at the drawing I had just finished. It was a version of Tara's drawing where we were holding hands. I quickly wrote 'Merry Christmas' on it and slid it underneath the door. I heard soft footsteps on the other side and the sound of the paper being picked up. The steps retreated quickly and returned. A piece of loose-leaf paper then came out from the other side of the door. One word was scrawled onto it in crayon.

_Thanks._

Just that one word started a conversation. Sure it was on paper and there was a wall between us, but it was a start.

_About what you said back there..._ I wrote.

_Forget it, _came the reply.

_What if don't want to?_

_Then your life is pretty short my friend._

_Why aren't you willing to try?_ I asked next.

_Try what?_ she asked.

_Expressing how you feel._ The paper returned with nothing added onto it.

_Are you afraid I don't feel the same way? _I quickly asked. The paper didn't come back. I sighed and stood up. Why did you have to fall in love with the girl who is so stubborn, shy, outspoken, cruel, and happy all at the same time, Cole, why? I returned to my room and stared and the stack of fancy manila letters from my father and sighed. I sat down, ran my hand through my hair, and tried to write a response. A soft knock sounded at the door. I opened it to find Tara staring at the floor. I returned to my desk and tried to write another letter and she pulled a chair up next to me. I looked up and managed a small smile. She grinned back. I understood now. She didn't need any words spoken or write how she felt, she expressed them through actions. With those smiles, we had called a truce and were back to normal. No words. Just like that.

Maybe relationships aren't so hard after all. Right?

* * *

**Drama! Mystery! Compassion! All in one chappie. Mwahaha!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for informing me about my chappie issue. I haven't ate lunch yet, so the next chappie will be at 3pm central time zone.**

**Chapter 16: Talent**

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Why were we in front of Cole's house again? Oh yeah, apparently a fang blade was part of a weird Ninjago talent show. I looked down at the pink ruffle dress Nya forced me into. It was so hideous, I'm positive even the color pink would hate the dress. However, we just had to dress properly for this occasion. When I had shown the guys' my dress, a few of them had their mouths dropped open. I guess it was the new reaction to revolting clothing. When Cole's dad finally opened the doorway, he gazed at us all in surprise.

"Cole, how good to see you! You brought a quartet!" he exclaimed. He looked at me, "and who's this? Your girlfriend vocalist? Fantastic! Come in, come in."

I looked at Cole and mouthed: _Girlfriend? You are sooo dead._

He shrugged and smiled: _Not my doing, he assumes things. Just go along with it._ Do fake girlfriends punch their fake boyfriends? Because I was confident I was about to do so to mine. We all tiptoed our way over to a couch and sat down very carefully. It was a little dusty in the room so I started making the motion that I had to sneeze. Everyone stared at me as if I was crazy.

"My sneeze won't come out..." I explained. Everybody returned to the matter at hand.

"...and that's why we need the Blade Cup," Cole finished.

"The Blade Cup? One of the most prized possessions in Ninjago Universe?" Cole's dad asked, "You can't just get it... you must-" a high-pitched sneeze echoed throughout the room.

"The sneeze came out," I whispered informatively.

The aging man let out a sigh of discontent and continued, "As I was saying... You can just get the Blade Cup. You must earn it."

He gasped loudly, "Could it be? You knew my quartet could no longer go on and came to replace us in this year's talent show! If you win the talent show, the Blade Cup is yours! Now let me hear some harmony!" Jay, Zane, and Kai stood up and tried to synchronize their voices in harmony. It just sounded pitchy and not uniform. Cole's dad looked at me like some beacon of hope. I had been feeling nauseated ever since we got here and I really did not want to sing. It's not that I was a bad singer... let's just say my vocal chords get a little wonky from time to time. He motioned for me to stand up and sing something magical. I stood up slowly and took a deep breath. I had hoped to sing something quiet and soft, but after I sang my fifth note and the glass windows shattered, I knew something was off. Told you my singing voice was wonky. Everyone crawled out from their hiding place.

"Whoops... a little strong? I'm so sorry! I'll help fix the windows and pick the glass up and everything!" I said frantically as I picked the glass up with my bare hands. Cole's dad fixed his hair and popped it back on his head he stormed out of the room.

"So much work..." he muttered as he ran out.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest. They had released them faster than I imagined. It would take awhile for the full effects to kick in though.

Smiling I asked, "So where do you want the glass?" I held up a handful of shards. But my eyes started to water from the stabbing pain in my chest.

"I'll just put them in the bathroom trashcan," I mumbled as I ran out of the room.

* * *

Thank goodness I wasn't considered part of the quartet. Cole's dad apparently thought anything I would do would break something, so he chained me to a chair like a dog. We were backstage on the Ninjago Talent Show stage and Cole's dad was forcing them to rehearse one last time. I shuffled my chair over to Cole and started to hit him with the leg of the chair.

"Ow! What?" he asked while rubbing his shin.

"You know you can't keep this act up. You need to tell him..." I said softly.

"What if he doesn't get it though?" he questioned. I took my unchained hand and rapped on his head.

"What are you thinking?" I yelled into his ear, "He's your dad! How can he not love you?" Cole brightened at that and walked over to his father. I couldn't overhear what they were saying but Cole changed into his ninja uniform, his dad scowled at him, and they both walk away.

"Thanks a lot, Tara," he grumbled.

"Thanks a lot Tara," I mimicked, "You know, you could actually thank your fake girlfriend and de-chain her over here!" I sat with my metal collar on for a while until I remembered I stole the key for the collar just in case this would happen. I put on my ninja uniform. Time to crash a talent show!

* * *

**I'm running on four hours of sleep, so hopefully I'm not crazy and my writing sounds okay.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, my power likes dying a lot again, so I lost my files, again. I won't post on the hour, but I am getting all 5 chappies in today.**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Cole's POV**

I peered outside into the crowd and was only met with bad news. First off, Pythor was here. Secondly, my dad wasn't here to watch. It was too late to back out now. We just decided to have a slight change in... performances. I looked behind me one last time before we would head out on stage to find an empty chair without Tara in it. My dad locked her up for a reason. I hoped things wouldn't go downhill from here. We heard our names get called and Jay, Zane, Kai, and I walked out. I counted in my head 1... 2... 3!

"Ninja-go!" we all yelled simultaneously. In the blur of spinning I could make out a few serpentine that performed earlier were jumping onto the stage. Things were definitely going downhill. Fast. Especially when I saw Tara run in with her fans swinging aimlessly at everyone. Bringing out our golden weapons, we easily took out the first couple of enemies. However, three serpentine were closing in on me and I didn't know what to do. With a jump, I landed on top of the first one's head, but my center of gravity was off-balance and I started turning as I landed onto the second serpentine. The third serpentine I used my head as a trampoline and landed safely on the ground. The crowd gasped.

"It's the Triple Tiger Chassé! It's never been performed by any man before!" the announcer yelled. Everyone applauded. In the judges, and Pythor, gave us a perfect score and we won the Blade Cup. Tara came up behind me and I gave her the universal: You are in so much trouble right now for almost ruining the show look. She just stuck her tongue out at me. As we went backstage with the trophy, I spotted my father. He started running towards me.

He stopped in front of me and grinned, "I am so proud of you son! I saw everything. What makes me proud the most is you actually earned the Blade Cup, and you earned it while doing what you do best."

"Does this mean I can still pursue being a ninja?" I asked him. He was about to answer when the door slammed open behind him, revealing Pythor and his minions. The girl who previously fought us in the amusement park marched up to Tara.

"So..." she grinned knowingly, "how's that working out for you? Afraid to cave in?" Ummm... what the heck was she rambling about? I then groaned inwardly thinking of all the trouble Tara can wind up so easily in. With a snap of his fingers, Pythor ordered serpentine to cut loose the lighting cables backstage. As each wire cord snapped, a wave of equipment flung itself closer and closer and then recoiled. It was going to crush all of us! I sprinted to where my dad was and got down on top of him when I heard the last cord snap. I then was surrounded by darkness and weight closing in and pressing down on all four sides. I thought of all we had went through today and how much of an improvement in the relationship I had made with my dad. I placed both hands on the rubbage above me and got a firm grip. Then, with great strain, I lifted off the burden in a painfully slow manner.

"Did Cole just unlock his true potential?" Jay inquired.

Kai shouted, "Not him too!" Zane was staring intently at me for a moment before he spoke.

"No, I do not believe he has unlocked his true potential. Cole's just very strong. He still has much to learn before he can unlock his full potential. Fixing the relationship with his father may of been one step towards unlocking it, but I foresee there are far greater obstacles that await," Zane said thoughtfully.

* * *

**Kai's POV**

Bright lights and equipment were rushing towards us at a dangerously fast rate. I let my instincts take over and I immediately shoved that sword-stealing girl out of the way. As I heard the crash of equipment behind me, I gave her my hand and helped her up.

"Hey, so I'm positive your master back there almost squashed you like a bug and I just saved your life. I think that means you're in debt to me now," I laughed. She crinkled her nose and distaste.

"Dream on," she ordered as she got up to walk away.

"Wait!" I called her back, "At least tell me your name! You owe me at least that!" She didn't turn around but rose her hand and waved.

"Violet, rhymes with violent. See ya around," she called back. My brain went to white noise.

* * *

**No one's POV**

Behind some rubble, Tara sat in a ball shape, clutching at her heart. She slowly rose and stumbled over to the rest of the gang who were surprised that the Serpentine hadn't managed to steal the Blade Cup. Cole turned to face her and immediately took notice of the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, pale complexion, and out of character motions. Tara smiled weakly.

"There's something you should probably see..." she mumbled. She reached down and grabbed something out of her pocket. As she unveiled what she had in her freezing cold hands, she attempted to explain what it was.

"An Asian Longhorn Beetle, or ALB. They attack trees by digging tunnels through the wood, laying eggs. They hatch, creating a colony that builds an infrastructure of tunnels in the tree, cutting the tree off from essential food and nutrients, starving it to death," she said before she laid the creature on the ground and brought her foot down upon it to where it created a sickening crunch sound.

"So how does this pertain to us?" Kai asked.

"Oh that's just an introduction, if you're lost now, wait till the popsicle stand really blows," Tara said before she collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

* * *

**I think the NO POV was the best and more like my usual, not-brain dead writing.**


	19. Chapter 19

**You readers are awesome reviewers! I'm now on the first page of highest reviews for Ninjago stories! Which means more readers like you!**

**Same disclaimer as the last billion chappies**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**No One's POV**

Tara had now recovered from fainting and was helping Nya guide the ship to Wildwood Forest.

"Land on the outside, it will be too hard to land if we go deeper into the forest," Tara told Nya softly. The ship landed safely and the team exited the crew, blind on what they were trying to find other than following the sick teenage girl still in a nightgown. The group trekked along single file for a while, avoiding cobwebs and cracking the occasional stick until Tara stopped right in front of them and bent down low to peer at a bush.

"Yes, it's a pretty flower. What do you want to show us?" Jay asked. A giant beetle was brought to his face.

"Gah!" he responded.

"The beetles are damaging the trees so badly that they are moving onto devouring smaller plant life, further messing us the balance of the ecosystem," Tara stated plainly. As they moved deeper into the heart of the forest, Tara would point out colonies of the Asian Longhorn Beetle or scrawny animals not able to get the nutrition they need for survival due to the beetles. As Kai pulled away a mass of moss and plant life blocking the path, a clearing was revealed. In the middle was a gargantuan willow tree with cascading leaves and roots extending far from the clearing. As the group got nearer, a closer inspection would reveal the tree to have inch wide holes across its surface and sap oozing where beetle larva were feasting. There was no square inch of the tree that had not been either A: damaged or B: covered with the beetles.

"So, it's a tree and the forest is dying, what does this have to do with you?" Kai asked. Tara just stared at him for his incomprehension and laid on one of the roots of the tree while rubbing her eyes.

"Kai, the tree **is** me, that's why the beetles are so important and why this whole forest infestation is important," Tara stated feebly. She stared at the sky, making pictures out of the clouds as she waited for everyone to process and digest the new information.

"How is that scientifically possible!" Jay yelled, "And what about when we first met you? You were bleeding human blood."

"To answer the first part," she stated lazily, "Life is a continuous circle where everything is connected. Truthfully, the respect for a tree shouldn't differ from a human, should it? Also, energy is always being converted, can't that energy be converted into anything? It makes as much sense as our nindroid friend here being able to have feelings. As for the human blood thing..." Tara paused and picked up a stick that had broke off the willow, or off of herself, and made a small incision in her index finger. As some red liquid welled up at the tip of her finger she pointed up to the tree.

"That's a red willow tree. It's sap is a bright red," she explained as she put her finger up to a wound in the tree to show that the colors matched.

"What was on my finger and over my garden in the desert was also sap. It's like the blood of trees. You can't really tell the difference except through genes and taste," she finished teaching as she wiped the sap off of her finger. For seemingly further proof, Tara approached the tree and melted directly into it. A few moments later, she emerged again.

"That is so... cool!" Jay yelled is amazement.

Tara cocked her head at them and asked, "It doesn't bother you that I'm over 150 years old?"

Cole laughed, "We have a nindroid who is probably even older. What did you expect? Our team just got more amazing."

"If what you say is true and that tree truly is you though, then the ALB's are killing you from the inside out, are they not? Can you not eat food to make up for it? If not, how do we stop the pests from destroying everything insight?" Zane interrogated.

"Ummm... yes. Yes, but only fruits and food with tons of natural sugars. As far as the pests... I assume the serpentine have a pesticide for it or know how to make the pesticide, since they along with Kai's lady friend were the ones who released them. I wouldn't open up these vines that cannot be crossed by trying to destroy them, so I believe that if we'd retrieve whatever is locked inside, they would in return help us," Tara stumbled over the sentences, trying to answer every question.

"Well then where is it!" Kai shouted.

"It's located somewhere in the toxic bog. What worries me though is if a Fang Blade is within the vines. If we would turn that in for the pesticide, we would be putting everyone in Ninjago's lives at risk. Wouldn't a forest be better to destroy rather than the whole planet?" she asked her friends.

"Statistically yes," Zane told her.

"However, that forest has you," Cole said. He then thought to himself, "And a planet without you is no planet at all." **(GAH! CHEESY-NESS!)**

"More importantly," he continued, "When did this all happen?"

"Well... on that walk I had... it was more of a kidnapping type of walk than a frolicking type of walk," Tara smiled.

"Thought so, now do you understand why it's better to tell the truth?" Cole asked.

"Yes," Tara moped as she hung her head on the way back to the ship.

* * *

**Well... good thing everything hit the fan this chapter!**

**(AN: Need a new computer! I forget that my siblings need it and then I don't have time to write my stories... IM SORRY DONT KILL ME! It also overheats every five minutes. NOT JOKING -_-)**


	20. Chapter 20

**I don't own Ninjago or Lego**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Cole's POV *2 hours earlier***

When we touched down in the Toxic Bog, Tara no longer had functioning motor skills of her legs and feet and had to be placed in a wheelchair as we tried to find the dome of vines she had previously talked about. Every squeaky roll of the wheelchair was an instant reminder of how fast her health was deteriorating now.

Tara then broke my thoughts by yelling out, "There it is!" The four of us looked to where she was pointing and noticed a giant writhing dome covered in moving vines, constantly constricting and retracting. I wearily rolled her up to the edge of the vines. Placing her hands on the outside of the dome, she slowly shoved the vines away, creating a small, winding, lengthy pathway to the center of the island. We walked slowly through the pathway, staring at the odd vines that encompassed us. Tara was starting to break into a sweat.

"If you guys could hurry up and quit dilly-dallying," she grunted, "that would be lovely. I don't think this thing wants us here." With a quickened pace, we reached the center. Just as we presumed, a fang blade was nestled in the middle with a cocoon of vines swarming around it protectively. Jay immediately tried to smash it open, but the vines regenerated faster than he could grab it. With a sigh, Tara carefully nudged the plant away and picked up the Fang Blade and then handed it to Jay. Instantly, a rumble echoed within the vines.

"Not to sound cliché, but what was that?" Kai asked. Tiny vibrations could be felt in the ground below us that steadily grew stronger. I turned around to see our exit diminishing in size.

"Run!" Jay screamed, not that he needed to tell us that.

"Tara, do something!" I ordered as I pushed her through the pathway. She lowered her hands from her lap and clasped her hands firmly down on the wheels of her chair, jerking her to a stop. She then put her hands on the sides of the vine walls and halted the progress they were making. I stopped.

"What do you think you're doing!" she grunted, trying to concentrate.

I responded, "I should be asking you the same thing!" She glanced up at me, annoyed, grabbed me by the collar, and chucked me forward. The walls took advantage of her pause and closed the remaining gap to around a foot wide. When I reached the sunlight, I glanced back one more time. I could barely make out her figure in the tangle of vines closing up the way we had come. She looked at me, closed her eyes, and smiled the way she always does. She dropped her hands. The vines encompassed the island again in a slamming sound. I stared, mortified.

"Is she even alive?" Jay gasped.

"There's a way to find out," Zane commented. Not wasting time to head back to Destiny's Bounty, we activated the vehicles and followed Zane.

* * *

I gazed up into Tara's willow tree. There was a giant, gaping hole forming in the middle, but the tree seemed still alive.

"She appears to be alive somehow, but these beetles are sure taking its toll," Kai mused. I really wanted to punch my way through some serpentine at the moment, but we had to act civil and be blackmailed into getting the pesticide.

"So... where exactly do we find the serpentine?" Jay asked the group. We pondered the thought for a few moments before three heads turned to face Kai.

"You've done this before," I told him. "How do we get in?" Kai grinned mischievously he had thought of a plan.

* * *

**Present Time**

I felt the rope making my wrists raw as I tried to squirm my way out of our doom. Serpentine surrounded us, cheering for our execution.

"Greeeaat plan Kai," Jay exaggerated sarcastically, "This is why we should make you the leader from now on!"

"When we get out of this mess, you are going to get a frying pan to the face," he frowned.

* * *

**Oooh, what happens next? Sorry for the short chappie. I have been having to go to a lot of unexpected funerals as of late :'(**


	21. Chapter 21

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Kai's POV**

I cautiously peered over the City of Ouroborus and jumped over the stonewall when all appeared to be clear.

As we inched our way over to the middle I announced, "We have the Fang Blade for you, so give us the pesticide!" The rest of the group stared.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" Cole questioned.

"Did you do that last time?" Jay groaned. I rubbed the back of my head.

"Psht! Of course not!" I denied. Whispering echoed throughout the tunnels of the city before hordes of serpentine emerged.

"What did he say?" one asked.

"Something about a pesticide?" the other guessed.

"What's a pesticide?" the first questioned. Both shrugged. Oddly, no serpentine leaders were present within crowd, which meant Lloyd probably wasn't here. A few moments later, Violet emerged with a vial of liquid in her hands.

"You want this?" she raised her eyebrows as she shook the bottle, "Fetch." With that, she flung the bottle into the air. It crashed into the ground, sending shards of glass everywhere.

She grinned, "Whoops, hand slipped." She may be drop dead gorgeous and all, but she seriously needed an attitude adjustment when it comes to life-or-death scenarios. Jay began to back up.

"I think we'll be going now," he laughed nervously, "because you no longer seem interested in the trade we offered anymore..."

"Oh, I'm interested. I was just thinking of a more one-sided trade," she informed us as she extended a shadow towards Zane. A hand formed and swiped the Fang Blade away before the shadow retreated to its master. Violet picked up the Fang Blade and smirked.

"Pythor's going to love this," she told herself. "Wrap them up boys!" That's how my brilliant plan went down the drain in a flash.

* * *

Our executor, Violet, stood over us with a demonic grin on her face. I am now fully convinced she's not sane.

"This is not how you treat someone who has saved your life!" I screamed at her. She stopped mid-swing and blinked at me a few times confused.

"You know Tara though, right?" she interrogated. I nodded, her malevolent grin came back and she prepared to swing with her giant shadow axe again.

"Well that changes everything," she commented as she hurled her axe at us. A large engine sounded above, startling Violet and throwing her off balance. Nya, outfitted in samurai gear, landed between Violet and us. The serpentine crowd in the stands began to boo. Cole, Jay, Zane, and I stood up and hopped our way over to our golden weapons that hung upon the crackling sandstone walls. Cole grabbed his scythe and cut our ropes loose.

Meanwhile, Nya was guarding us from a barrage of shadow weapons and serpentine by acting as a human meat shield. Zane was mumbling something and I turned back around to hear what he was saying.

"It took approximately thirty minutes to scale the vertical wall, far too long when trying to escape. Jay's vehicle is the only one able to fly over the wall, so that idea is out-" I cut Zane off.

"Well there is always the way I got over the wall last time..." I suggested. Everyone scowled in my direction.

"No," I sighed, "it will not lead to imminent doom and destruction." I then ran to a tunnel near the gate and sped down the flight of stairs, the others close on my tail. I screeched to a halt at the bottom. Zane ran into Cole who ran into Jay who toppled on top of me, leaving us as a pile on the floor. I stood up and dusted myself off to view what had shocked me before I had been smashed into. Before us was a strange laboratory, capsules filled with odd colored fluids and cages filled with gargantuan beasts. Closer inspection revealed the so called beasts to be the same species of beetles that were destroying Tara from the inside out.

"It appears some strange growth hormone has caused the beetles to multiply to an unthinkable size. Some of these other capsules are filled with beetles with extra jaws, poison sacs, and appendages," Zane informed us.

"So what you're saying is the insects infesting the forest could have genetic abnormalities destroying the plants at an even faster rate?" Jay asked.

"Precisely," I heard him reply. I gazed at the various vials and test tubes of liquid they were all labeled with the letter "P" and then a product code. P-12, P-149, P-3, ect.

"What do all of these vials' labels mean?" I asked the group.

"P-42..." Cole muttered. His eyes brightened and he began to shout. P-42! P-100! Don't you see! They're all of the pesticides for all of the mutated species of beetles!" Every one grinned. I hated to burst everyone's bubble.

"How are we going to smuggle over one-hundred bottles of pesticide away with us? Violet even broke one of them! It's not like we can just mix them all up into one vial..." everyone grinned wider when I said that.

"There is only a 32% chance that combining the pesticides could result in changing the composition of the pesticide. We can bring smaller vials of the other pesticides with us too," Jay educated us.

Moments later each of our ninja uniforms were stuffed with bottles of pesticide... never thought that would happen. Ever. We ran down a corridor parallel to the stairs we came from.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" Cole asked, skeptical of my planning skills.

"I may or may have not run down the wrong tunnel," I sheepishly responded. A set of stairs were before me, I sprinted up the stairs, flung open the latch to the trap door, and emerged on top of the sandstone wall. I smirked down at Jay, Cole, and Zane.

"And you thought I had bad plans!" I belittled them.

"You do," Zane responded, "that was just unnatural luck."

We headed to the Destiny's bounty that Nya had anchored nearby and soon my sister was flying away from Ouroborus and landing on the deck of our ship.

"Back to the forest?" she asked us. We nodded.

"Let's just hope this works," I said to no one in particular.

* * *

**Okay, so there's this thing called school that I happen to actually have to ATTEND to get a job later on in life, along with homework, and the ACT. Sooo... what I'm trying to say is I will try to type on weekends when school is running and post three chappies a week. Sorry guys!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Cole's POV**

There was a mutated, German Shepherd-size beetle on Tara's tree.

"Well that's... new," Jay stated the obvious. I went up to the willow and unveiled one of the test tubes as I doused a little on the giant dog-beetle. I waited a few moments. No effect. I poured vials on periodically and waited for an effect. Ten vials on the ground escalated to twenty... thirty... and so on. I started to pour another vial on when Kai piped up.

"You know, even if we do have the right pesticide with us, how can we spread that small of an amount to have enough effect to wipe out the entire infestation, or one mutated beetle for that matter?" he inquired. Only half-way listening, I poured the final bottle, the combined one, onto the insect. Nothing happened. I whirled around and marched up to Kai as my eyes began to sting.

"I don't know... maybe because it was another of your stupid ideas! I should be asking you that question, because it was _your_ ingenious idea that got us into this mess! So tell me, how are we supposed to save this forest or Tara at the least?" I yelled at him. Kai's eyes widened with surprise and fear and then returned to their normal determined state.

"We both know I tried my best given the circumstances," he said under his breath. Zane brightened up.

"If the Asian Longhorn Beetle's colony hierarchy works principally the same fashion as the Tree Horns, then shouldn't we able to just take out the queen in order to disperse the rest of the beetles?" he proposed. A genuine mastermind. Everyone should start having nindroid friends! I looked around frantically for the queen beetle.

"Calm down. I'm certain that the queen is the giant beetle clinging to Tara's tree, since she is the one the beetles are supposed to target," Jay informed me. I turned to Zane.

"We couldn't have figured this out earlier!" I yelled in frustration as I charged up to the insect. New thing to the list of stuff I despise: Beetles. I took out my scythe and thought of all the hatred I had for this insect due to all the problems it was causing me as I swung downward at the beast.

"Cole, wait! You shouldn't do-" Jay called out as my scythe cleanly went through the beetle and stopped.

"That," he finished. I dislodged my scythe and realized I had hit Tara's tree too.

"Oh... well that's not good," I understated, unsure of what to do.

"Look!" Kai pointed at the tree. A trail of beetles was starting to leave the tree, wandering aimlessly into the forest.

"The hormones from the queen have stopped being released, causing the beetles to not know their orders!" Jay and Zane said simultaneously. They then high-fived each other. Ahh! Knowledge buddies! The nerdy-ness is blinding!

* * *

With the infestation leaving by its own accord, we headed to the Toxic Bog. I scurried over to the vine dome.

"Tara! Are you in there?" I called through the squirming plant. The vines parted, creating a spacious pathway as I spotted Tara running towards us, smiling widely. Wait. Running? An urge to laugh rose up in my throat because I knew that Tara had recovered to where she was capable of running again. She flung herself at me and pulled me into a tight embrace. I picked her up by her slim waist and twirled her around as she giggled. Her laugh reminded me of bells, joyful and melodic. I put her down on the ground and set a stern look across my face.

"I was so worried about you..." I whispered. She blushed and looked away, giving a lopsided smile.

"Hellooo, your best ninja friends who saved your butt are here! Get a room, geesh..." Jay told us, annoyed. We both just gave him the same look: _Seriously? You want to talk about getting a room? What about you and Nya?_

Tara put both hands on one hip, "I don't know how you guys got rid of the infestation, but you did it! However, I now have this strange gash on my side." She removed both hands to reveal stained clothing underneath. Zane, Jay, and Kai bore eyes into the back of my head.

"Yeah... about that... So, speaking of things that exist in the universe, why isn't this vine monster eating our heads off about now?" I asked here.

"Well," she started with a smile, "if you must know, once as Xavier here found out that we were sort of "brethren" and found out about my predicament, he tried to make me as comfortable as possible. Just in case I _died_ or something."

"That's all?" I asked. She nodded.

I placed my hand on her head and ruffled her hair, "I'm just glad you're okay." We started to stroll back to the Destiny's Bounty.

"So..." Tara began.

"So?" I repeated.

"Can I keep Xavier? As a pet? He has an adorable eastern Ninjago plant accent," she proposed.

"Absolutely not," I firmly stated.

"Why not?" she pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

The bickering began and our group had returned to normal. Well, if you consider ninjas with friends who are nindroids and trees to be normal.

* * *

**Garbaflarblestien! I can't decide what college I want to go to. Maybe I'm planning to early, but still!**


	23. Chapter 23

***** = same thing as they did last time.**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Tara's POV**

I stared up at the sky with a dazed expression across my face and then looked at the foot on my chest, which was compressing all the oxygen inside my lungs and forcing it out of my mouth. The foot's owner pumped his fist up to the air triumphantly. The pressure released and I conjured up goldfish faces as I gulped down air. I stood up, enjoying the feeling of sturdy ground and not being flung into the air like a ragdoll. As I dusted myself off, I raised an eyebrow at my sparring partner.

"I hope you understand that getting bulldozed every time I try to train isn't going to teach me anything, much less unlock any full potential I have in this spaghetti arm body," I stated, far past frustration and hopelessness. The blue fabric-wearing torturer smirked at me, taking in my haggard features.

"Come on, you just can't stand losing. I didn't strike you with lightning every time. No one is going to unlock his or her full potential if you keep moping around like you are. Fighting stance. Now. Let's go again," Jay instructed.

"Not every time my butt," I muttered under my breath as I prepared myself and got into a sparring position. With a shout, Jay charged. My brain snapped to attention, remembered every mistake I had made the previous times, and adjusted. I stood straight and put my hands behind me. A split-second before Jay's nun chucks could make contact I sidestepped and spun around, placing my back against Jay's. Confused, he twisted right and left to try to face me head on, failing terribly. With each twist, I counteracted the motion. I giggled and jumped as a foot tried to swipe my feet from out from under me.

"Why won't you attack?" Jay's exasperated voice sounded from behind me as he snapped his nun chucks at my feet, releasing waves of lightning. I trotted backwards quickly and found myself pressed against the ship's mast. My eyes widened, sensing defeat, then turned into smiling crescents. I placed my hands against its smooth surface and quickly hoisted myself up as lightning struck where I had originally been. I flipped on top of Jay, crushing him to the ground. I unsheathed my fan, hit the button at the bottom, and brought it to Jay's neck.

"Checkmate!" I said, giddy.

"Can't breathe..." he wheezed from underneath. I grinned wider.

"Redemption! I hold no sympathy for my victims!" I laughed in his face. A cough sounded behind me. I turned around to see Cole. I looked back to the awkward position Jay and I were in: me pinning him down while sitting on his chest. I scrambled up quickly.

"What were you doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"I finally got Checkmate! I am victorious! Bow down underling! Want to spar with me next? I finally beat Jay!" I announced. He laughed and nodded as Nya appeared on the top deck of the ship.

"Have any of you seen Kai?" she asked us. Our heads rattled as we shook our heads no.

The hunt ended as Zane, Jay, Cole, Nya, and I peered beyond the shoji screen. Kai was in a green ninja outfit, trying to summon any form of fire from within him.

***"Bring heat!" he yelled in aggravation. Cole chuckled from behind me.

"Very nice, perhaps if you tried the phrase 'Fire Dork!' maybe it might work," Cole teased.*** I frowned and elbowed him in the ribcage. He didn't have to be such a bully, I hadn't unlocked my full potential either. Kai began to try to explain his foolish actions in a never-ending narrative when a door squealed open a couple rooms down.

"Hello?" an elderly voice rang throughout the house. Sensei Wu was back! We immediately stopped badgering Kai and sprinted down the hall.

"Sensei!" I cried out affectionately as I enveloped the weathered, papery old man in a famous bear hug. As we finished our greetings, a large, four-armed, gnarly _thing_ emerged from behind Sensei Wu.

"Sensei! Behind you! Lord Garmadon!" Jay called out. Kai's eyes lit up with hatred and he pounced on the four armed creature as Zane leapt before Sensei, creating a hysterical image as he crashed to the floor. Sensei began scolding everyone for foolish behavior.

"Until we find Lloyd, Lord Garmadon is a welcome guest!" he fumed. Everyone bowed his or her head respectfully except me.

"Yes Sensei Wu," they said in unison. The urge to laugh that had been rising in my throat could no longer be quelled as I burst out in rolls of laughter, pointing my finger at what I thought was hilarious, particularly Zane. My eyes began to water and I held my sides as cramps began to form at my sides from laughing so hard. Everyone stared at me strangely, not in tune to my sense of humor at the moment.

* * *

I sat in the corner, in time-out. A sign hung around my neck saying, "I did a bad thing, I'm sorry." I huffed sadly in the corner as I watched little motes dance around in the sunlight. I couldn't believe I was being amused by dust. A figure kneeled down to my eye level.

"Hey," Cole smirked, "how's time-out working for you?" I sniffled.

"If you came to make fun of me, you should leave," I ordered. His eyes laughed and his bushy, caterpillar eyebrows rose with interest.

"Really... well I was just wondering if I could take you up on your proposal," Cole informed.

"What proposal?" I asked, verging on having a heart attack. He rubbed his knees and sighed. He extended his hand and brought me to a standing position.

"Want to spar?" he asked indifferently. Ohh. That proposal. I felt stupid now.

"What about time-out?" I looked back to the corner I had been sitting in. He removed the sign off my neck and began to tug me outside.

"Don't worry about it, when I was five, I never stayed in time-out," he comforted me. I smiled at Cole.

"Okay... wait? Five years old!" I let out an astonished gasp, wondering if time-outs were still suitable for teenagers. Cole just laughed at me.

Bully.

* * *

**This chappie was pretty cool beans to write. I feel like I'm losing viewers with the more chappies I write though. Who's going to stick it out till the end?**


	24. Chapter 24

**Wow, great feedback guys! I received a threat for if I didn't update, a fanfiction spammed mailbox, and I'm now 8th on most reviewed Ninjago stories. Ready for an intense chappie?**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**Tara's POV**

I stared down my opponent with avid curiosity, my heart pounding against the sides of my chest in excitement and anticipation. Cole was outfitted in his kendo uniform and unsheathed his scythe. The corner of one side of his mouth curled upward deviously as Jay blew the fighting whistle. My brain was thinking ahead of me and I could only catch words. Cole. Running. Impact. Dodge. Oh crud. Dodge, dodge, dodge! I leapt to the side and looked at the giant gorged out section of wood where I had been just moments before.

"Are you trying to kill me!" I shrieked in horror. I didn't even have a kendo outfit yet and he could have ripped me to shreds very easily. He was busy trying to dislodge his scythe and shrugged.

"All you've ever done is defended; you need to learn to attack. Like right now, I made myself wide open for an attack by wedging my sword here. But," he grunted as the scythe came loose and turned to face me, "too late." He sped towards me with the same demonized grin as before then swung his scythe over his head. I pulled my fans out last moment and caught the blade in between the two fans as an unbearable screeching sound came out from the colliding metal. Cole pressed forward and slid me back a couple feet.

"Come on Tara, let's see you attack," Cole whispered. My blood began to boil. I can't believe this guy! I know he's supposed to train me, but I have my own ways of doing things! I pressed my weight forward and leaned close while tilting my head.

"You really want me to fight you?" I said dangerously, "Fine, have it your way. I shall attack!" I heaved all my weight into my fans and gave Cole a hefty shove, sending him stumbling backwards. I spun each fan in my fingers before I hurled them at Cole, where they sliced the front of his uniform before coming back to me in boomerang fashion. With each swing, I screamed a word.

"Idiot! Fat head! Stupid! Rotten fish! Imbecile..." I began losing steam as I stopped launching my golden weapon at Cole. I noticed tiny spatters of rain on the deck. I didn't feel any rain. I brought my hand to my face and felt the tears running down my face, dripping off my chin. I slowly lowered to the ground and heard footfalls in the distance. A pair of feet stopped in front of me. I gazed up slowly, taking in the torn uniform and gashes in the clothes that had even reached skin. My eyes lingered on Cole's worried face before I looked away.

I hugged my arms close to my body, looked up at him with a tear-stained face and whispered, "How could you want me to hurt... h-hurt the people I love most?" Cole's eyes washed over in relief as he reached his arms out and pulled me into a hug.

With a thin smile and pat on my head he told me, "I should be calling you the stupid one. We're just trying to train you. You're going to have to fight offensively some time, or else you might not win. You don't have to hurt friends to spar." I felt something warm and rough on my forehead. My eyes shot open and glanced upward. Cole was kissing my forehead...

"Huh?" I asked myself, realization not quite getting to me left. A scythe was then brought to my neck.

"And that I believe, is game point," he grinned.

"Huh?!" I yelled at him. With a fit of rage, I stomped my feet on the ground. A groaning sounded throughout the ship's woodwork right before a plant shot out of the deck and enveloped Cole. It was a thorn bush.

"Eggplant!" I shouted at him with a heated face before I ran inside.

"Egg-plant?" Cole questioned from behind me, confused.

* * *

**Cole's POV**

What the heck is eggplant supposed to mean? I don't know why she freaked out so much. She had said she liked me before right? Why can't I show her affection without her freaking out? I thought that's what people who liked each other did. Maybe I got that wrong. Maybe you give them a thorn bush and call them an eggplant. I looked down at the thorns pricking into me and the cuts all over my outfit and sighed heavily. Jay just stared at me.

"So that's what you don't do to girls," he said in wonder. I frowned.

"Get me down. Now," I commanded. He shook his head.

"No, you make a great tree ornament. I like you better up there," he smirked as he walked away. Another hour passed before Nya came on deck and started helping me down. The thorn bush receded slowly now that its captor was free.

"She called me an eggplant. What is that even supposed to mean?" I asked Nya.

"Well," she guessed, "it's her least favorite thing in the universe, so I bet it's her way of saying she hates your guts." Nya walked away to try to upgrade her samurai technology.

"Great..." I spoke to no one as I rubbed my hand over my face, "Why can't you give me a break Tara? I'm trying... why won't you?" Infuriated with myself and the world that loved messing my life up, I returned to my room.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

I knocked softly on the maple door in front of me. The door opened, revealing Zane in his pink apron and the kitchen. I was too tired to comment on his ridiculous attire. We didn't need to say anything, he stood aside and brought out a mixing bowl. I snatched cinnamon, sugar, flour, and other ingredients. I frowned into the batter I was stirring, trying to make sense of the odd complexity of humans and life. Something cold crashed onto my head. Batter. I looked over at Zane who pretended as if he hadn't done anything. I flashed back to the previous food fights I had and smiled. Let the games begin! I took an egg out of its carton and cracked it over Zane's head while he looked at me in astonishment.

Both evenly coated in batter, I giggled as I nibbled on a steaming apple pie cookie drizzled with decadent caramel. My brow furrowed and I swiveled in my chair to face Zane.

"Did you not understand how to handle humans at first Zane?" I inquired. He chomped on a mouthful of cookie thoughtfully before answering.

"Well, I did not comprehend their humor at first, nor get along very well with every one until I discovered my true potential," he commented.

"Oh..." I responded as I twirled my foot in circles aimlessly on the floor tiles. For some reason, guilt suddenly overwhelmed me and I began spewing out everything that had happened when I sparred with Cole. Zane's smile disappeared with every sentence I spoke.

In an angered voice he said, "You can't just come running to me for every little relationship bump you have with Cole. You need to figure out how you feel about people and set things straight! It's time you grow up a little Tara! Please... just please stop acting like such a kid." I searched his face for any source of sarcasm, then turned away, hurt. I started to leap off my chair to sprint down the hall. However, a firm hand locked on my arm.

"Let me go!" I shouted. Zane's face turned pink with rage and his hand clamped down harder.

"This is what I mean! Stop running away! You always try and run away!" he yelled. Then in a much softer tone, "Please, Tara... stop it. We've already nearly lost you so many times." Something that I thought would never happen occurred. A lone tear rolled down the nindroid's cheek.

* * *

**Apparently, I interrobang quite frequently according to vocab words.**


	25. Chapter 25

**My house is a sea of college supplies for my sis. Yesterday I got lost in the sea and didn't come out until this morning O_O (I think something lives down there too...)**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**Tara's POV**

I squinted through my eyelashes as I started to come back to consciousness. A metal hand was gripping onto my waist protectively and my head was resting in the owner to that hand's lap. My eyes tried to focus on the TV screen in front of me, but that was not where the escalating voices were coming from. One of the voices said something and the arm around me tightened.

"Ow," I stated as I got into a sitting position and removed the hand clinging to me roughly. Rubbing my eyes I glared at Cole and Zane," What's the big deal?" A blush rose to both of their faces as they stared at me, they then looked at each other with a scowl and turned away. Zane opened his mouth to begin talking, but Cole covered his mouth with his hand quickly and only muffled noises came out.

Cole grinned innocently at me, "Nothing, nothing. Right, Zane?" Zane nodded quickly and I frowned.

I got up from the game room couch as I heard behind me, "What the brick! You just froze my hand!" I laughed and almost stepped into the hallway when Kai zoomed passed me.

"Lord Garmadon... Stupid... Evil..." he muttered as he sprinted by me. I peeked my head out into the hallway and looked both ways before I entered this time. I walked along the halls aimlessly with my hands behind my back, looking into random rooms. When I peeked into the dining room, I saw Jay sitting in one of the chairs, holding a mahjong game set in his hands. He looked up at me and gave a crooked grin.

"Tara! Just the person I wanted to see. How about we play a game?" he asked cordially.

* * *

**Cole's POV *8 minutes earlier***

I was looking everywhere for Tara to try and talk things through with her, but when I found her... she was sleeping on the couch with her head in Zane's lap! A surge of jealously filled up inside me as I stomped over to Zane and blocked his view of the TV.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed at him. He looked at me blankly.

"Well... I **was** watching a movie..." he responded. I took a deep breath before I spoke.

"No... I mean what are you doing with Tara?!" I said in exasperation. He opened up his circuitry and ran a search through his memory database.

"Watching a movie. Moreover, I don't recall people being able to lay claim to girls like items put on layaway. 'All is fair in love and war'," Zane quoted. I ground my teeth together for a moment before I responded.

"We'll then, I'll make sure I'll definitely win this war," I told him confidently. Zane's hand clutched down harder on Tara, as if to keep her away from me.

He smirked as he informed me, "I ran situations through all my systems, and logic proves that I would be a far better match for-" Tara sat up and removed Zane's arm from her. After a short discussion, I had managed to get her out of the room, but in exchange, my hand was now in a brick of ice.

"Zane!" I yelled as I chased him around the room with my human-popsicle hammer. The war had commenced.

* * *

**Jay's POV**

Tara played quietly, not cheering when she created a three-of-a-kind set, but instead wearing a slight puzzled expression on her face, probably wondering why I had asked her to play with me. I thought back to when everyone first met Tara. Not a hint of recognition displayed on her face when I went in and saw her after her operation. Sure, she had amnesia, but I had hoped she would remember such monumental events that had happened. Tara noticed me staring at her, deep in thought, and gave me a shy, reserved smile. I had played along with her so far, pretending I had known nothing about her before either. However, as each day passed and she still looked at me unknowingly, the pain that swelled inside me was starting to overflow. I slammed both hands on the dining table and stood up. Tara stared at me with a startled expression.

"How can you not remember, Tara? How can you not remember me? Or this?" I questioned as I pointed to the scar that ran through my eyebrow. She just gave me a mournful, perplexed expression as her eyes shone with fear. She just looked down at the tiles and began swirling them around, acknowledging that the fun and games had come to an end.

"I met you at the same time as the rest of you guys; I don't understand what you mean... Sometimes a picture or memory from the past will flash in my mind here and there, but I still don't remember a lot," she mumbled, "I really am trying to remember everything, but how would you like it if you tried to look back on your life and you can't remember a stupid thing!" An alarm sounded above us.

"Come on, let's go see what that's about," I told her as I guided her to the door. Her memory was coming back at a sluggish rate. She may not remember me yet, but I would keep on trying.

* * *

**Oooo, what secret past do Jay and Tara share? :D **

**R-E-V-I-E-W**


	26. Chapter 26

**We are to 25 chappies (not counting announcement) My mind has been going a mile a minute for this fanfic today. I would first like to rid any confusion. I will NEVER attempt to pair Jay and Tara. That's wrong :O. Secondly, I love drawing, and I'm an adequate artist. I just can never draw my own characters if I didn't before they were created, if that makes any sense. Would it be fun if I held a drawing competition for Tara, perhaps with who you want her paired with. I dunno, what would the prize even be? PM me with ideas. I'll stop babbling now.**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**CHAPTER 25!**

**Tara's POV**

I stared at everyone skeptically.

"You're telling me we need to go into a highly unstable volcano just to save Lloyd and get a Fang Blade? A volcano where I'm a piece of tinder waiting to combust, where Zane will probably melt down, and the rest of you will collapse from dehydration and heat exhaustion!" I stared at everyone with my hands on my hips. Nearly everyone was staring at the ground or their shoes, not daring to meet my eyes.

"Sounds like fun!" I cheered, not a hint of sarcasm lacing my words. Cole glanced around.

"Where are our weapons?" he asked.

"Oh, Sensei told-" I began to respond.

Kai cut me off, "More importantly, where is Lord Garmadon?" He rushed out the room, not awaiting a response, and almost smacked the door on the way out.

"-Lord Garmadon to fetch them," I finished as I stared after Kai in wonder, "That boy never thinks things through, does he?" Cole snickered.

"Like you do?" he questioned. I glared at him.

"What?" he asked, uncomfortable under my gaze.

"I'm just thoroughly thinking through all the horrendous ways I can wreak havoc and get revenge on you," I told him cheerfully. He merely smirked, not taking the threat seriously.

"I shall await your revenge," he bowed. I awarded him a shove for his attitude as we all headed to the weapons room. Immediately as we tried to enter the room, a door was shut in our faces and locked.

"This would be a greeaat time for you, Cole, to unlock that full potential of yours!" Jay informed Cole as he jostled the doorknob. My eyes glued to the steel frame surrounding the oval door.

"I'll be right back!" I announced as I turned the corner and sped down the hallway. Twenty seconds later, I returned with my supplies and ragged breath. I switched gears and put on safety goggles and gloves.

"Apple cider vinegar, from the kitchen," I told the group as I took a cotton swab and began...uh... swabbing the metal frame.

I held up another bottle, "Muriatic acid." I applied this to the metal as well.

"Why is that on the ship?" Nya whispered to Sensei Wu. I held up the final ingredient.

"Hydrogen peroxide from the first aid kit," I informed everybody as I sprayed it on as well. I grinned. "Together this should increase the oxidization of the iron frame of the door, causing decay quick enough to remove the door easily within the timeframe of thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds may be too long! Who knows what kind of hospitalization will be needed if we don't get in there right now!" Nya yelled in a distraught voice. Jay approached me, grabbed my shoulders, and bent down to my height.

"Where did you learn that?" he interrogated. I scratched my head as my brain filed through scattered fuzzy thoughts, images, and memories. A word began to replay in my head as I had found my answer.

"A friend. I learned it from a friend," I affirmed. He laughed and stood back.

"A friend huh..." he mused as a crash resounded behind him. Zane had managed to knock the door down. Kai stood on top of Lord Garmadon triumphantly. I looked at him with shame and just shook my head. Sensei Wu rubbed his temples.

"-are my eyes glowing, have I unlocked my true potential? Why isn't it working?" Kai asked as he threw accusatory glances at Lord Garmadon, as if it was his fault that Kai couldn't unlock his true potential. Sensei Wu stepped in and began explaining to Kai his misunderstanding in small baby steps.

"Perhaps it is best you don't reach your full potential, someone might get hurt," Sensei Wu considered.

"Way to go, hero," Cole told Kai in a sarcastic voice.

"I thought I was the hero for finding a way to break down the door," I pouted as I did a superman pose. Everyone laughed at me except Zane. He turned his humor switch on.

"All hail the Rust Hero!" Zane proclaimed. I frowned.

"Watch it, nindroid, you'll be the one rusted next," I threatened. I was laughed at again. I joined in the laughter too, not at myself, but for all the revenge that would come Cole and Zane's way.

The laughter ceased when the ship groaned to a halt. We had arrived. I ran up onto the deck and immediately felt a change in the air. The atmosphere felt dry, the heat making the air feel almost solid. Or maybe it was the black smoke emitting from the volcano. Kai came up behind me.

"I didn't know trees sweated like people," he said. I looked at him like he was a lunatic and felt my brow. It was wet with water.

"We don't. Although we do perspire, it's nearly the same thing," I corrected him. And looked disdainfully at my ninja outfit that stuck and clung to me. Nearly everyone's outfit, except for Cole's, was a darker shade due to the sweat.

As we inched our way stealthily into the heart of the volcano, the temperature rose.

"Maybe my prediction will come true," I mumbled. The tunnel we had been traveling through opened up onto a ledge. Below, serpentine could be seen shoveling dirt or wheel barrowing it away in order to retrieve the Fang Blade. I then noticed a young boy in a cage with an odd black cloak on. Judging by the way Lord Garmadon was looking at the boy, I would go on a limb and guess that that was his son. A clink of metal resounded throughout the cavity of the volcano. Pythor was picking up a metallic object. The Fang Blade. I watched with interest as the blade caught light in our direction. Pythor whirled around.

"Attack!" he boomed.

That can't be good.

I felt something warm on my hand before a searing pain shot up my arm. I looked down.

My arm was on fire.

Definitely not good. **(Bit of an understatement, Tara...)**

* * *

**I have some Zane fans coming here and there cheering for Zane, but the majority leans toward Cole. Arg! I don't want to disappoint anyone! I hit my head really hard today getting into a car (I'm fairly tall), I might be super loco in my writing of this chappie due to my major headache...**


	27. Chapter 27

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**Zane's POV**

I have to admit that watching Tara holding her arm in the air and flailing around had many amusing qualities. The fact she was getting hurt by the fire was not one of them. An overwhelming desire to save her came to my senses as I felt a tremendous amount of new energy and adrenaline begin to pump through my veins. I looked down at my hands and noticed they had started to turn translucent a have a glow-like quality to them. I listened to my feet pound against the ground as I sprinted towards Tara. I clamped one arm down on her shoulder and the other on her forearm that was in the air. I then twisted her around and held her burning hand out in front of me. I took a deep intake of warm, volcanic air and then blew on her hand. The expelled air came out at a frozen temperature. I watched the water vapor, what little that there was, freeze and solidify together into one block of ice surrounding her hand. The fire was gone. However, through the ice I could detect the severity of the damage by the blackened, charred mess that used to be a hand that lay underneath. Tara was staring at me. I gave a small smile, hoping she would appreciate that I solved her problems. She spoke to me in an irritated voice.

"Zane," she said slowly an in a surprisingly calm manner, "have you ever heard of an exploding tree?" I shook my head no; I could not find the term "exploding tree" in any of my memories or search processors.

"The ice on me is freezing the sap underneath as we speak. When sap freezes, it expands; a gunshot sound is created as the bark contracts and sap expands. You," she gazed at me sadly, "caused me to lose my hand." A large popping sound resonated throughout the area, like the removal of a cork top from a glass bottle. The immediate sound following sounded like the rut-tut-tutting of a machine gun firing. The ice began to divide, shattering into fragments that flung towards our approaching enemies as deadly shards. Along with the ice, I saw fragments of splintering wood flying by. Tara's mouth was open in a silent scream as she cradled he arm, now severed at the wrist. My mouth went dry as I tried to formulate words to express my regret.

"Well, there goes a perfectly good hand. They don't make them like they used to," were her first words she said when she was capable of speaking.

I stood there with my mouth opening and closing like a blowfish before I managed stutter, "-I'm sorry..." Her eyes narrowed instantly.

"Never say sorry for something you meant to do," she told me. Tara stared down at her stub of a hand and turned the jagged wood around, inspecting it. I stared at my feet, flustered and unsure of what to do.

"No! I am sorry!" I shouted as Tara looked at me in mild surprise, "I didn't want you to get hurt! I did not want this to happen... I made a mistake..." She stood up and walked over to me. I felt her breath on my face. She patted me on the head.

"Everyone makes mistakes. However, out of all the mistakes I've made, I think you're my favorite... In addition, I specialize in growing plants. Did you seriously think I wouldn't be able to fix this?" she questioned.

"Hello?" Jay called to us, "As much as this is touching and all... we sort of have tons of serpentine trying to EAT OUR HEADS OFF!" I looked below the ledge our whole group had originally been on to find everyone working hard, except Tara and me. She blew at a curl annoyingly placed in the middle of her forehead and sighed.

"Guess that hand will have to wait," she muttered. "Shall we?"

I bowed, "After you."

* * *

**Tara's POV**

My hand still had a stinging sensation and sap was still rushing out of the wound, but I would be fine. I leapt downwards and landed on a rock as lava spurted dangerously close to me. I couldn't be more out of my element. I fought purely by fist, and I wasn't doing to swell only being able to use one and the "no golden weapons rule". That is why I was filling many mixed emotions when Kai brought out his sword to fend off the serpentine. The main emotion was that I wanted to strangle him. I was fighting with one hand, therefore he could do just as well with two. A rumble of the volcano caused the ground to shake, forcing me to the ground. I heard Nya talking over the falcon. Something about danger and instability. All I knew was it was Kai's fault. As the serpentine were making a hasty retreat, they dropped Lloyd. Cole and Zane were arguing over something, Kai was trying to play hero and rescue the Fang Blade, and Lord Garmadon was trying to rescue his son. I noticed the lava had almost engulfed my platform and I quickly leapt to higher ground. When I reached Sensei Wu, I saw Lloyd looking down at me, offering a hand up. I looked everywhere, mystified how Lord Garmadon was able to work so quickly. Once I had been pulled up, the ground began to crumble beneath us, unable to support the new added weight. I quickly leapt back, crashing into Cole. Lloyd, on the other hand, had no such luck. I watched him plummet into the lava and reached forward to try and save him, but a pair of hands attached to my waist at the last second before I toppled in after Lloyd. I looked helplessly between Lloyd and Kai. Lloyd was about to be encapsulated by Lava and killed, and Kai was busy trying to dislodge his golden sword that he got wedged into the side of the volcano in the process of saving the Fang Blade. I heard a whirling sound and yelped as a hand yanked my back by the hem of my shirt. I stared in amazement at the two-ton rock that now held the place I had originally been.

"Thanks," I breathed to whoever saved me. I got no response; instead, I got a shove on the back and was forced into a jog.

"Come on, Tara!" Cole yelled behind me, "Let's go!" I noticed how he wasn't passing me. I skidded to a halt.

"Then if you're in such a rush, lead the way!" I told him. He scowled and gave me a death stare. He stopped and quickly jumped as high as he could before slamming his feet into the ground.

"Earth!" he called out his element as a wave of rock began hurling toward me. It began to grow into a tsunami. I began to sprint like hell.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh!" I panted as I tried to avoid the looming monstrosity closing in behind me. I felt a gentle thud on my back. I was riding the earth tsunami. Cole was lying peacefully next to me, grinning. Soon we were joined by Lord Garmadon, Jay, Zane, and Sensei Wu.

"What was that for?!" I demanded. He looked over at me and his coal-like eyes laughed.

"Think of it as motivation," he chuckled. Note to self: When Cole tells you to run, you **RUN**.

The tsunami died down when we safely reached outside. As the last one of us climbed on board, I looked at the volcano solemnly. Nya was on the brink of tears when she didn't see Kai climb aboard. Everyone was mute, not wanting to admit the obvious. Kai and Lloyd were dead. Nya started the ship and circled the volcano a few times before departing. In the distance, I saw a splurge of lava come from the top of the volcano. I sighed. I guess that was that. One of the specks of lava was coming closer and increasing in size. When I could begin to make out the form of the lava, I gasped.

"It's Kai!" I pointed into the sky. Everyone turned, expecting it to be some sick joke. Each face lit up when they discovered the truth.

"Kai's full potential" Jay breathed. Kai landed on the ship's deck and set Lloyd down. Everyone crowded around and began congratulating him. I hung back, staring at the sky on the opposing side of the ship. A few moments passed and I felt a presence by me.

"So, no 'I'm happy you're not dead' pat on the back?" he asked me. I looked over at him, noticed how his eyes showed how much pride he had in himself. I whacked him in the arm with my good fist.

"We all thought you were dead, idiot. Don't ever do that again," I threatened as he rubbed his arm.

"What was the punch for?" he asked accusingly.

"I heard it was how some siblings show affection," I told him. I felt a fist collide into my arm roughly. I looked at him. We both grinned.

* * *

**Soo, bad feedback last chappie... Hope you like this chappie. R&R plz. I had to re-do it because of power outages...**


	28. Chapter 28

**Okay, finally have a chappie. I've been pretty sick lately and found out I need an MRI probably... but I can still type! :D**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**Cole's POV**

I looked around at those who were forced to attend the revealing of my latest dinner creation. Tara and Zane, who would usually attempt to consume my food just to please me and not hurt my feelings, were nowhere to be found.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Jay explained, "I think Zane is still asleep, he hasn't gotten out of bed all day." I ran down the hall to the bedroom Kai, Jay, Cole, and I shared while everyone behind me quietly tiptoed away from the table, chucking my dish overboard. I cautiously peered into our room to find Zane sitting in his typical sleeping position, except he was awake. He registered my presence with a bored expression. I went up to him and started poking him in the cheek to see if he would move.

"Hey, Frosty, why haven't you gotten up yet?" I asked him. He continued to stare straight forward and mumbled something while his mouth was shut.

"Wush-trwed," he repeated. I shook my head, still not understanding his dilemma. I continued to stare at him when he began yelling the word, as if comprehension would come out that way.

"Wush-trwed! Wushtrwed! Wushtrwed!" He shouted. That was when I noticed little brown flakes covering Zane. Oh... rusted. I looked around helplessly, unsure what to do. I then hurried out of the room, going to who I suspected was behind it.

After consulting and interrogating everyone who I had thought was behind this heinous crime, I landed myself in front of Tara's door. I knocked. I heard some stumbling and tripping, along with a large crash. I was about to open the door when Tara swung it open, slightly flustered.

"What's up?" she asked casually, blocking the doorway with her small frame. I looked over her head and then back at her. There was a giant pile of dead, wooden hands in the middle of the room. She looked down at the carpet.

"I can't seem to be able to make it the same!" she told me as she waved a giant carving knife around. I carefully took the weapon out of her hand before she accidentally flung it at me. She showed me the hand she was working on. It looked like a lumpy fish tentacle.

"We'll see what Jay can do about that later," I comforted her. "However, I came here to ask you a question. Did you rust Zane on purpose?" I finished sternly. Tara stared at me before she burst out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. I waited until she regained her composure.

"I told you guys I'd get revenge, he just happened to be first," Tara explained, still holding her sides, "I would never actually rust Zane, that's crossing the line. I merely flecked some washable paint on him and turned his mobility switch off so he'd think he rusted." I shook my head and demanded her to fix Zane. While on our way back to Zane, she snatched he carving knife back. She brought it to my neck threateningly.

"Remember, you're next, bucko," she reminded me. It was my turn to laugh.

"Au contraire," I said as I brought my scythe to her neck, "I believe it is you who will be next." We both held our positions, neither backing down. The corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards and we both laughed. As Tara entered the boy's room, I would of expected Zane's eyes to hold a glare of anger, or a hint to how he was feeling, because I knew I would be infuriated if this happened to me. No anger showed in his eyes; instead, his eyes turned into laughing crescents, if possible. I crossed my arms across my chest and leaned against the door. I told myself I was just making sure Tara would undo the havoc she wreaked on Zane. However, my conscious knew that was not the case. I was simply jealous. I glared at them in distaste as Tara brought over some cleaning supplies and began gently washing the paint off of Zane, asking if she was hurting him from time to time and apologizing occasionally when she managed to get cleaner in his eyes from time to time.

"Gah! I did it again! Sorry!" she repeated for the umpteenth time. After five more agonizing minutes, Tara finally opened the control panel on Zane's arm and turned his mobility back on.

"Sorry bout that, but you had that coming towards you!" she justified. Zane laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

"No, I deserved it," looking everywhere but the lumpy tentacle thing that Tara used as a sad excuse for a hand currently. I couldn't handle this anymore. I stormed out of the room. A fast-paced set of footsteps sounded behind me, trying to catch up.

"Cole! Where are you going?" Tara called to me. I stopped and looked at her from over my shoulder.

"Away from you," I told her coldly. Tara looked taken aback. She reached forward to place her good hand on my shoulder, but it paused mid-way, and then quickly retreated back to its owner's side.

"What's wrong?" she managed to ask.

"What's wrong?" I repeated. "You're spending time with him!" I motioned to the room that we had just been in.

"And you said you liked me..." I muttered as I began to turn around again. How could she not understand it? I left Tara with a scared expression on her face. I heard her footsteps pound closer toward me. I prepared myself to get slapped, punched, or at least covered in some sort of plant. Instead, I found myself plummeting to the ground, having been tackled to the ground by a hug from Tara.

"What did you want?" I asked irritably, although I was glad she had come after me again.

"This is your revenge!" Tara grinned, "I remember I told you I like you. I like everyone after all!" She hugged me tighter and snuggled me more before looking up and giving an innocent smile with doe eyes. I scowled.

"You don't understand," I informed her, disgusted, as I pried myself away from her. I left Tara in the hallway a second time, where she looked like a homeless puppy, wandering and wondering where to go.

* * *

**Cole is such a jealous boy this chappie :O! R&R**


	29. Chapter 29

**Phew, I feel like I haven't written in forever. Sorry if the chappie stinks. I've been on the other side of fanfiction... reading stories. Love ya guys... this chappie is pretty tense with drama. R&R plz.**

**Chapter 28**

* * *

**Tara's POV**

I don't know how long I stood in the hallway. However, when I finally came to my senses that Cole didn't plan on returning, I somehow moped and trudged my way over to Jay, still not comprehending where I had went wrong. Jay flashed me a look of amusement that then turned worried when he saw my misshapen hand.

"Oh... yeah. I needed to ask you to help me fix my hand," I remembered. He was staring at me intently. I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn't find out the real reason I was so puzzled right now. Jay gave up trying to read me like a book and began making a mold out of my good hand. I studied him as he worked. I could ask him, right? He was in a relationship after all. My mind shuddered suddenly though at the memory of when Nya described her first date with Jay. So terrible... I decided to ask Jay anyways.

"Why is Cole mad at me? He doesn't like when I'm around Zane and when I said I liked everyone, including him, he only got worse!" I complained to Jay, catching him off-guard. He stood up, smirking.

"Well," he stretched into a yawn, "The first part is his problem... As for the second part... I don't think you understand what he was getting at." I cocked my head to the side and sigh emitted out of Jay.

"You know that you can like someone in more than one way, right Tara?" he asked, rubbing his forehead. I shook my head from one side to the other. Jay frowned.

"You probably forgot..." he mumbled, "You can like someone like how I like Sensei Wu- as a friend and mentor. Or you can like someone how I like Nya..." Jay paused as a light pink tint showed up on his cheeks. "As someone you are attracted to, as in love," he finished. As he began carving out my hand, I stared at him with a bemused expression.

"I think I get it... I don't know, it seems weird someone would get angry over that," I wondered to myself. "Agh! It just doesn't make sense!" I brought my hands to my head and shook it back and forth. A warm hand stopped my shaking.

"Don't worry," he grinned at me, "I think you'll understand eventually. Oh and it's quite common for people to get upset over something like that. It's called jealousy. Now hold still, I might accidentally cut your hand off if you keep squirming like that.

* * *

Dinner was... delightful. I had arrived late, trying to test out the coordination of my new hand, and the only remaining seat was right across from -you guessed it- Cole. His glare seemed to be burning a hole in my forehead. I looked down at the mushy meal he had prepared today. For some reason, many nails and tacks were found in Zane's helping of food, and a small pile was being meticulously collected on a napkin next to him. I tried to bring a gelatinous glob (probably infused with a whole bottle of hatred) to my mouth. Next thing you know it was on Cole's face.

"Sorry... My coordination with my new hand isn't the greatest," Cole's eyes only grew with a more intense hatred as he watched the goop roll down his face and into his lap. The urge to laugh that had welled up in me was long gone. Whatever relationship Cole and I had, it was clearly over with a few misunderstood sentences. I finally took the courage to glance around the room at everyone. They were practically choking on the solidity and tenseness of the air. I finally understood. Whatever had made me blush whenever I came in contact with this man and stutter at any words I had to utter towards him had fully dissipated. That weird pounding, irregular heartbeat that always started when I was near him, a thing that _could have_ turned into that _love_ thing Jay was talking about, had ceased. I looked at his scowl and nearly grinned at my revelation. He turned whatever wooden heart I had into ice. Now I normally don't cuss, but I learned some colorful language from some trees -and Kai-. Therefore, whenever its deemed appropriate, those words fit my mood excellently. I stood up, slamming my hands on the table.

"You really are an asshole, aren't you?" I smiled at him, my eyes shut so I wouldn't have to see him. As I exited dinner, I could feel everyone's astonished stares following me out of the room. Right before I slammed my door shut, I threw up a wall of impenetrable plants and huddled against my large panda bear. I felt my eyes begin to grow heavy after awhile, and I felt myself slip into the escape and pure bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

I felt a strange pain in my side when I awoke. I looked outside, judging by how high the moon was out, I had slept less than an hour. The jabbing continued to persist. I went over to the door and looked at the withering plant wall before me. I pressed my hand against it and immediately understood what was wrong. I slammed the wall down, feeling the pain from my side retreat as my eyes were graced with the presence of Kai... with a fireball in his hand. I went back to my bed and he invited himself inside my room. I looked absentmindedly at the carnage I wreaked before I fell asleep. I had torn up all the drawings Cole had ever given me, but they were now carefully re-taped and back where they belonged. The panda had its stitching taken out, until I hurriedly re-sewed it back together. Anything I had done in the blur of my anger was now fixed or had been attempted to be fixed. I waited for my lecture.

* * *

**Kai's POV**

I stared at Tara. Her eyes no longer sparked with enthusiasm or passion, not even the hatred we had all seen earlier. They were now a dull grey: emotionless and expressionless. Her hair was disheveled and her curls stuck up in any direction they pleased. I took a deep breath.

"He doesn't mean it, you know," I breathed out. Tara continued to stare into the distance, not commenting. She finally spoke, but still didn't turn to even glance at me.

"He sent you here, didn't he?" she interrogated. I fidgeted a little and kept silent.

"Thought so."

I tried again, "He doesn't hate you, if anything he hates himself (and someone else). Jealousy is a combination of love and hate." I looked over at Tara, she reminded me of myself when I was little. All of the fragile friendships I had made had fell so fast. Now the friendship, or whatever, between her and Cole had been severed. Heck, the barely-there friendship that was between me and her was being severed as we spoke. She held the scissors.

"Get out," she whispered dangerously. The bond had been cut some more. I gave her a punch in the arm. She looked up quickly, astonished, before a scowl replaced her features. Tara wasn't lost completely, but we were losing her, fast.

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Sometime between when Kai left and before I fell to sleep, this time a world of nightmares, a piece of paper slip under my locked door. I picked it up.

_Dear Tara,_

_I'm sorry... truly. I know you may not forgive me now for being so stupid and just realizing this. But remember this, I'll love you forever, even if you decide never to love me back._

_-Cole_

I reread over the message a few times.

"Love me forever? Pfft. Don't give me crap," I said aloud before I threw it in the waste basket and huddled on my bed. A little part of me wanted to believe his words were true.


	30. Chapter 30

**Okay... so school started... which means I'll be posting less. Boo :(. But I'll still be posting (cheers). I'll let you know if I go on hiatus. Kinda left you guys with Tara in a very depressed mood... don't worry! She still is -_-. I decided to write about what was happening while she locked herself in her room.**

**I knew Author's Notes were important!**

**I Don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

**Cole's POV**

My latest dish was now a mushy mess in my lap. I heard the echo of Tara's door slam. My scowl deepened and I glared at Zane.

"This is all your fault!" I accused him. Zane peered up from his meal, pulling out another shard of glass that mysteriously got in there... He grinned; he actually grinned at a time like this!

"Cole, your ego is going to your head. You were afraid to lose any love Tara held for you due to a little competition and took it out on her. You lost it all. Nindroid will always conquer in the end," Zane smirked.

"You think this is some sort of game!" I yelled at him while I cursed under my breath, "Love isn't a game!"

"Admit it," the nindroid told me, "You are as head over heels in love with her as I." I opened my mouth to form an insult, a defense mechanism when I didn't want to admit the truth.

"How can a nindroid even love?" I looked down upon him before I left the dinner room too. I saw Zane's face contort to an indescribable expression. My mind ran through some possibilities. Hate? Anger? Annoyance? No. My mind finally realized it was the same expression Tara gave me previously...

That emotion was excruciating pain.

* * *

**Kai's POV**

I lay awake in my bed; nightmares had been haunting me ever since I left Tara's room. Her eyes were so... so, so empty. Vacant, like her soul decided to leave.

I was deep enough in my wonderings that I didn't see a figure that had entered the window of my room. The figure pounced on me and air was forced out of my lungs in a gasp of surprise. Long hair began to tickle my nose as the person leaned over.

"Hey," the person said. I looked up at them, trying to distinguish their features. They leaned forward more and I made out their eyes that shone in the darkness.

"Violet!" I gasped again, except it came out as more of a wheeze. Violet removed her knees from my chest.

"Why are you here?" I questioned her as I got out of my bed while rubbing my eyes. She looked around nervously and then took my hand and led me outside so we wouldn't wake up my roommates. She frowned.

"I know I owed Pythor for saving my life, but when I was going to become the first offering to the Great Devourer, I bailed," she spat. I mentally slapped myself. Our family had been so focused on the drama happening within the ship, we had completely forgotten about... oh... I don't know... the GIANT SNAKE THAT WAS GOING TO DESTROY NINJAGO! If released, of course.

"Can I ask how he saved you?" I whispered. She studied me and scowled.

"No..." Violet told me slowly, "It doesn't concern you." I hadn't earned her trust yet.

"Why are you here then?" I tried to rekindle the conversation.

Violet's eyes narrowed, "Do I have to remind you that you saved my life too, Kai?" I shrugged. She put her hands on her hips, annoyed. I flashed an apologetic smile. A huff escaped Violet's mouth and she kneeled before me.

"I am in your debt," she mumbled, "I am now your faithful servant and you are my master." Did not expect that.

A squeak from a door not oiled enough echoed into the hallway. Jay stood in the doorframe of our room and squinted at us. Violet quickly stood up and looked the other way.

I assume Jay's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, because he called out, "Kai? Is that you?" I told him yes and he looked at the figure that was turned around. His face turned from a perplexed one to one of recognition.

"Oh... hey, Violet," Jay gave a small smile, "How are you handling?" Violet turned around slowly.

"Not dead yet anyways," she grinned. I marveled at her. That was the first true smile Violet had ever given. "How's Tara doing?" she questioned as her voice dropped into nothingness. My head swerved back and forth between the two of them.

"Wait... You guys know each other?!" I asked, bewildered. They looked at me, gave me a curt nod, and turned back towards each other. It seemed as though this was a routine conversation for them, as if they had repeated it many times before.

"She's... she's broken right now," he replied softly, "She still hasn't remembered anything, either." Violet frowned, half-sad and half-annoyed.

"You should probably tell her soon, even if it is seemingly the worst time to. She deserves to remember. I would probably just make it worse," she commented. It was now Jay's turn to frown.

"I don't know anyone who would want to remember what happened," he said before he walked down the hallway, turned the corner, and shut the door to the bathroom What was going on? I looked at Violet, confusion clearly reading on my features.

"Not now," she said tiredly, "You don't need the burden now. Do you have an extra room I could stay in? I should be staying here from now on." I led her to one of the bedrooms, she was about to enter, but I covered her hand on the doorknob.

"Tell me. Now," I commanded. Violet looked at me sadly with hazel eyes, which I just noticed had tiny flecks of deep purple in them. She stood on her tiptoes and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm sorry to disobey you, but I can't, master," she said as she retreated into her room.

* * *

**Review! Who will be my 100th reviewer? Let's wait and see! Review, review, review! I'll give you cyber-cookies!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay... Lots of stuff to say. I'll post why I didn't type this up yesterday below this chappie.**

**Shout out to ppl wondering about Tara's past: Will be revealed in next few chappies.**

**To Lightfeather5632: I'm sorry, that would be redundant, she already got kidnapped and he thought she ran away. Plus I can't add arcs that interfere with the main plot points I want to squeeze in. But if you have a miniarc (particularly for next chappie) I would love for you guys to PM me. (suggesting a mini-arc should not be a review.**

**StoriesAreMagic: You're review stood out. 3 Ya! I think Cole was being a bit of an idiot too :)**

**And without further ado... OUR 100th REVIEWER! ***DRUMROLL*****

**Earthdragon27! Keep reviewing guys! *hands out cyber-cookies***

**Now the chappie, sorry it's kinda boring... maybe.**

**I don't own Ninjago or Lego, ect.**

* * *

**Chapter 30.**

**No One's POV**

Another wave of turbulence hit the ship. On the way to The City of Ouroborus (to save the world and what not), the Destiny's bounty smashed into an unpredicted storm. Cole had gone outside to see if Lord Garmadon was bathing in evil, but he was nowhere to be found. Consequently, Lloyd was in the corner of his room, sulking. No one could figure out why. Cole stumbled back into the room after being thrown around like a ragdoll outside. His face was green and was bending over. Tara looked up in disinterest before going back to helping Zane with laundry.

* * *

**Zane's POV**

I pulled out another garment from the basket of clothes. It appeared to be an undergarment of some sort, but not any that I knew my brothers wore. I looked at the pink-laced edges in confusion. I did not know how to fold such an object. I looked over at Tara.

"How do you fold this, Tara?" I asked innocently. She looked up from her folding and her face grew an unnatural shade of red. Everyone else in the room -Cole, Jay, and Kai- turned to look at what I was talking about. They too began blushing furiously.

"I-I- uh- um..." Tara stammered embarrassedly. I cocked my head to one side, still not understanding as I held the object of topic in the air.

Kai being the first one to regain his speech ordered, "Hand it to Tara, Zane. Hand... that to Tara. She'll fold it." I felt a wind rush by my hand. Tara had already snatched the article of clothing and hid it behind her. I still didn't understand the situation.

"What's that called? Clearly it is an undergarment of some sort, but I only know of an undergarment called 'boxers'," I asked as I glanced from person to person. Kai was rubbing his temples and Cole began stumbling his way over to us.

"Zane," Tara said while focusing on folding, "You don't need to know. You may not understand this, but that crosses a social boundary in a wrong way." The said garment was now folded neatly and hidden discretely by a leg of a chair. Cole had finally made his way over and rested on the chair. He pointed his finger out at me.

"You!" he accused, "Never talk to Tara like that! I know for a-" Cole stopped mid-sentence and clutched his stomach while puffing out his cheeks in an unflattering manner. He must have a weak stomach because he bent over the side of the chair and vomited.

"My underwear!" Tara exclaimed.

Name recognized.

Inserting into database for later use.

* * *

**Cole's POV**

My hand felt its way across my stinging cheek. Tara slaps me if I soil her underwear yet if Zane persistently asks about it she only gets embarrassed? What's up with that? I roamed the hallways as I rubbed my cheek. I noticed Sensei's door was closed. Maybe he could give me some sort of advice on how to fix things. I knocked on the pine wood door and waited respectfully for an answer. When I received none, I cracked the door open slowly and peered in.

"Sensei?" I whispered, I don't know why I was whispering. Heck, I don't know why I was nervous to even enter his room. I stood up straighter and pushed the door aside. I scanned the room before I stepped in and glanced around. Sensei Wu was nowhere to be found.

So that's why I was nervous...

I spun around and immediately sprinted out the doorway, nearly losing grip on the hardwood floor in the hall, and skipped a few steps while tripping up the stairs to get to the Control Room. I ran over to the steering wheel and looked at the path I had plotted out for us earlier. All the coordinates had changed. We had been traveling for two hours.

In the wrong direction.

Without Sensei.

I mumbled incoherently under my breath in a frustrated manner and thought about all the new obstacles we would now have to face today. With a sharp yank on the steering wheel, the ship began lurching to the left. All of the tables began sliding and slammed into the nearest wall. I felt my stomach lurch upward again but I managed to keep it down. Once the ship had finally rearranged itself back on course and the tilting had stopped, I heard the sound of footfalls approaching. I turned around as everyone filed in, including that girl we had fought previously at the amusement park. I raised one of my bushy eyebrows at Kai.

"That's not important right now," he waved me off, "What is going on here?" I let my eyes linger on the girl a few seconds longer, as Tara was glaring at her. She looked adorable... in a way... by the way she was glaring at Violet. Due to her height, Tara had to crane her neck all the way upward to look at Violet. To get her point across further, she stood on her tip-toes and jumped up occasionally. When Tara caught me staring at her, she looked at me from the corner of her eye and immediately hid behind the thing nearest to her. Which ironically was the person she had previously glared at. I cleared my throat, more to refocus my attention than theirs.

"Well, it appears we have been sailing off-course for two hours now..." I paused and let them soak that it, "To top that off, it also seems as though Sensei has gone missing, probably to fight Pythor and the Great Devourer himself." The room grew eerily quiet as I looked at everyone's faces that ranged from indifferent to depressed beyond any nightmare. The silence only perpetuated.

"Well?" What are you waiting for?" Tara asked. "Full speed ahead!"

"Full speed ahead on the right route, you mean," Kai corrected her. Now we had four hours ahead before we would reach The City of Ouroborus. What other crazy situations would unfold before we reached our destination?

* * *

**Okay! That's all! PM me, review, just talk to me! I love hearing from you guys! As for why I haven't been posting... There's a guy. He has been really confusing me and he's sorta "out of my league" but he teases me and jokes with me a lot. I just don't know what to do! I'm not very confident about flirting and I DON'T UNDERSTAND BOY'S FOREIGN LANGUAGE! So yeah, my heads in a giant mess of spaghetti.**


	32. Chapter 32

**3 essays in a week is a pain in the butt... -_- all I'm saying. This chapter was interesting to write all in Jay's view. I'm kinda surprised he's not a perv.**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago.**

**Chapter 31**

* * *

**Jay's POV**

A fuzzy blur of color swarmed my view. My head was spinning and I felt something heavy on my back. I felt the metallic taste of blood run into my mouth. Where was I? My vision was slowly clearing, creating a figure. It was Tara, kneeling down in the sand. I could make out tears reflecting sunshine rolling down her cheeks and dropping off at her chin. Why was she crying? What had happened? She was shaking uncontrollably now, her lips parted slightly, as if getting ready to speak. Her mouth moved as she shouted out two words. Over and over. Repeatedly. My eyes widened. My mind reeled... I knew what had happened.

* * *

***Flashback***

We had made it too Ouroborus, only to be too late. The anchor barely graced the sand before our team leapt out into the arena. The floor had already grown several fissures and cracks. Pythor stood in the middle, eyes gleaming and hands outstretched, as if to welcome a god. I leapt backwards, yanking whatever fabric I saw in front of me backwards, as the floor gave way. Within the chasm, a rumbling sounded. My heartbeat accelerated and I felt it pounding against the insides of my ribcage. A terrible screech sounded out. Emerging out of the abyss was no snake, but a serpent, a few hundred stories tall and dripping lethal venom. Off to the side, Sensei Wu gave us one last glance with a small smile before he leapt the Great Devourer in one last attempt to stop this madness before it plummeted out of control. The serpent only had to open his mouth a few inches... then Sensei was gulped down as a pre-dinner snack. I watched in utter horror and bile rose up in the back of my throat as the Great Devourer leapt at Pythor next. I looked away, finally noticing everyone else's reaction to such a grotesque scene. Violet was looking down at her nails with an exasperated expression and no empathy.

"I know this is supposed to be heart-wrenching and all," she mumbled, "but shouldn't we be focusing on saving ourselves first? We can mourn all we want once we are out of this disaster." I gaped at her like a blowfish, following by example. I then realized she had a sincere undertone to her voice and noticed an unusual wetness to her eyes. I smiled and nodded, she had always made sure you had to pay attention to know her true intentions. Everyone else began to hesitantly agree. Our group quickly sprinted to the ship as emptiness replaced the ground we had once been standing on. The Great Devourer truly lived up to his name, huh. We entered the control room one by run. I saw Nya nodding her head as she did a head count, tension and stress visually draining from her body with each person. When she saw me, she let out a large sigh of relief and looked up at me through the dark pieces of hair that covered her brilliant eyes. I gave her a toothy grin. I had worried her... She blushed slightly before furiously shaking her head and frantically returning to the task at hand. Zane lifted the last of the anchor on board and the Destiny's bounty lurched forward. I looked behind us as the City of Ouroborus and the Great Devourer were disappearing quickly. Everything was back to normal. I looked over at scanned the room. Kai was drooling over Violet, who was quietly analyzing Tara. Tara, on the other hand, had her arms crossed and eyes closed, in a defiant mood with her nose in the air. Cole was leaning over her shoulder, saying he could do this or do that if only she would smile at him. I began laughing at how normal we had returned after being in life-threatening danger just moments ago. I felt seven pairs of eyes look at me strangely. I guess my humor didn't reach all... My thoughts were interrupted when an alarm sounded overhead. Lloyd rushed to a dashboard and looked up worriedly.

"We're almost out of fuel!" he announced. I whipped my head around to see out the back of the ship. The city was long gone, but as the Destiny's bounty was losing speed, a familiar, and unwelcome, figure was advancing on us quick. I glanced over at the rear-view mirror Nya was looking at.

"Uh... guys? Hate to rain on your parade here, but objects are closer than they appear!" I screamed frantically. Nya flicked me an annoyed I'm-gonna-kill-you look before resuming control of the steering wheel. My mind began wondering back over to the issue of fuel. A faint image began to appear in my mind. My... parents? What does that have to do with fuel? Oh... yeah!

"Nya! Set a trajectory for my parent's place! They must have some sort of fuel for our ship!" I called out.

* * *

We made it... my crooked grin widened as the anchor to the ship touched down on my parent's junkyard. I leapt down first, loving the way little poofs of dust billowed upwards when my feet impacted the ground. I wasn't only here for the pleasure of seeing my parents, or even the fuel for that matter, there were... memories here that needed to be respected. I looked back up at the flying ship and covered my eyes with one hand to block the sunshine. Everyone had leapt downwards except Tara. Her eyes zipped back and forth in uncertainty and confusion. That's right... she doesn't remember being here. I outstretched my hand to her.

"Come on Tara!" I coaxed while giving a gentle smile, "This is where my parents live! I can show you around!" Tara didn't look down at me. Instead, she tilted her head, listening, and then looked the way we had come, sniffed the air, and leapt down the other side of the ship. What the heck? I looked behind me to look at everyone else's reaction, but they were already searching for fuel and not paying attention. I began sprinting in order to catch up to Tara. I sidestepped around rusted out nin-cola bottles, billboard signs, you name it. I continued to chase Tara's retreating figure as the path we were traversing continued to narrow and narrow. I glanced up on either side of me. Mountains of collected junk loomed over each side of the passageway, threatening to topple over at any given second. This was getting to the oldest part of the junkyard... the part my parents had originally closed off! I saw a flash of lilac fabric and lurched forward to catch Tara, but the silk slipped easily through my fingers.

"Tara! Come back! Don't go back there, it isn't safe!" I called out to her, but received no response. Panting, I finally slowed to a stop to where she was staring. Her head was craned upwards to glance at what had been hidden to me the past eight years. It was a small wooden playhouse, with writing etched into a sign hanging above the miniature door for little children. We both stood hypnotized and fixated on the house until I heard a deafening roar come from the right. Tara had heard the Great Devourer coming from that far away... I felt a small vibration through my feet and looked up to a piece of a metal (an I-beam from some random construction site to be precise) that had been teetering on the edge of Junk Mountain was now screeching towards us. Tara was still looking at the clubhouse with the same stoic expression on her face.

"Dang it, Tara! Move!" I yelled out to her as I shoved her out of the way, which was (if you're wondering) like moving a brick wall thank you very much. That was when Tara looked at me horrified as the beam crashed down upon my head and I blacked out.

* * *

***End Flashback***

I stared at my friend, a girl bawling in the middle of the desert, making odd, wrenched wailing noises with a pain too emotional to bear. She had always bore the same burden as Violet and I, but now she was finally aware of it. I felt ashamed of myself when I had a small smile on my face as Tara shouted out something repeatedly. Was it selfish to feel happy that I was not alone, at the price of someone else's happiness? Her heart was already so fragile... At first she had been silently mouthing the words. But now they came out in small bursts of tears.

"I remember... I remember... I remember..." she repeated in a choked voice. Her head tilted sideways towards me with large, pained eyes.

"Why did you want me to remember?" she asked in-between sobs. I looked down shamefully at the drips of blood that were staining the sand. Before I looked up with a fake smile and closed eyes.

"I didn't want to be the only one."

Tears mixed with the blood on the ground, and for once I didn't feel as guilty and pained as I felt on most nights. I now shared a horrible secret with two people, a bond that was un-severable. Two voices cried in harmony at that moment, a song of pain we each hoped reached the heavens above.

* * *

**Ppphht... who knew Jay was like this... (AKA: why does he sound kinda poetic-y to me?) Oh well... sorry for the cliffie into next chapter sort-of. Review please.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Okay, so due to school I update weekly. Enjoy the chappie. Love ya guys!**

**I don't own lego or ninjago.**

**Chapter 32: (My brain-fart chappie :P)**

* * *

**Tara's POV**

I felt someone jarring me to reality. My eyes squinted, adjusting to the harsh sunlight. I heard a large roar emanate nearby. I stared upward from where I knelt. I looked up into a pair of Prussian blue eyes that were filled with concern. I then noticed the large welt upon Jay's head that was bleeding profusely. My hand reached up to touch the wound, but a hand snatched it out of the way. My head turned to see Zane, glaring at Jay and tugging me harshly back into the labyrinth of junk. I frantically pulled away from his grip, running toward the clubhouse.

"Tara! We can't take it with! The Devourer is here!" Jay agreed with Zane. I glanced back at both of them with a perplexed expression on my face.

"Although I would like to," I said in a hushed voice, "I didn't just accidentally stumble upon the clubhouse, Jay." I sniffed the air again as if to confirm what had led me to this treacherous memory and then bowed underneath the curtain of the doorway. A few seconds later, I emerged with two rusty barrels of fuel.

"Isn't this what we came here for?" I asked solemnly. Jay nodded.

"Forgot about that..." he mumbled. Zane grabbed the cans of fuel and tossed them over to Jay to carry. He then latched his wrist onto mine and dragged me all the way back to the ship, a good fifty paces ahead of Jay. I had never seen Zane so infuriated before, at me nonetheless. He is usually so calm and collected. I dug my heels into the wood in the hallways of the ship and tried to yank my hand away, to no avail.

"What's wrong Zane?" I asked cautiously. I searched the back of his rigid figure for any clues as to what I had done wrong. Zane didn't turn to face me.

"We had been searching the whole time. Not for the fuel... we thought we had lost you. When I heard the Great Devourer's call..." Zane paused and shuddered visibly, "...I thought it was all over... But then I heard you crying with one of my hearing modules. Something inside me began to accelerate, to feel... happy. However, when I saw your tear-stained face and Jay shaking you so roughly... I thought he was hurting you." Zane stopped explaining and looked at me for a response, his eyes boring into mine.

"...I just remembered something, okay? No big deal," I assured him while trying to dislodge the hands that somehow had made their way to my shoulders. Zane looked at me with astonishment and ran a hand over his head.

"Yes, it's a big deal, Tara! I don't think you understand, we all thought you were gone, as in non-existent! Am I just some sort of piñata to you?" Zane's voice rose to a roar by the time he had finished. I frowned, I had been keeping the memory I had recovered in the darkest depths of my mind, but Zane talking was bringing it back to the forefront.

"I don't see what I did wrong!" I told Zane in exasperation, "I can handle myself. I doubt anyone needed to worry that much." Zane's response was to drag me along the corridor until we stopped in front of the fitness room. He motioned for me to look into the room through the glass. I stood on my tip-toes and peered inside. As I had been dragged along the hallway, I had felt some vibrations in my feet, but I would of never guessed they would of came from here. Cole was inside the exercise room punching a handing sandbag. His knuckles were already raw and the sandbag (which was in fairly good condition before) was now leaking at the seams. Zane's hand reached for the doorknob and he pulled the door open.

"I found Tara," he mumbled. Cole stopped pummeling the sandbag as if it was the devil and turned around, sweat was gathering in the middle of his head as his brow furrowed. I was now beginning to comprehend the situation I had put the others through and smiled sheepishly at Cole. He turned around again, tensed, and then slammed his curled fist into the punching bag. I cringed at the sound of ripping seams, as all of the sand was tore from the bag. I felt Zane's hands guide me land on my shoulders as he began to guide me out of the room. Right before the door closed, I heard a whisper from inside.

"I couldn't do anything..." I heard Cole barely say. That was how I had felt back when I was ten.

We stopped in front of another door. This time it was my own. Zane pressed his back against the wall of the hallway and waited for me to open the door. When I did, I saw Kai, packing up my various oversized stuffed animals into cardboard boxes. He glanced up and he quickly glanced away with an unreadable expression on his face. I smiled warmly and plopped on my down comforter. I raised my fist and gave him a punch in the arm.

"Thought I was leaving you too?" I asked lightly. He looked down at his feet, making random shapes in the carpet. I leave for five minutes and everyone starts acting out of character. I mean Kai being quiet? Come on now. He just raised his hand weakly and flicked me lightly on the forehead, avoiding a good-hearted punch all together.

"Yeah, something like that," he laughed faintly, "I'll unpack your stuff for you." I nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind me.

"Well?" Zane asked while looking at me from the corner of his eye. I looked up at him.

"I still don't see why you guys were freaking out. Have you all forgotten? I wouldn't be dead (yes I used the almighty D-word) even if this part of me was gone... oh crap," I paused in horror, thinking of what could happen at any moment.

"You know what, Zane? I take back what I said before. I can't handle myself. Well the real me anyway... I need your help," I told him. His eyes lit up in curiosity, then changed into annoyance at himself for not staying mad for too long.

"What's wrong?" he asked with an edge to his voice.

"What if the Great Devourer comes after my tree?" I asked. He stood silently, processing the information.

"Ugh," he said while slapping his forehead, "stupid!"

* * *

**Okay, background story comes next chapter, sorry. Major brain-fart :P. REVIEW PLEASE! I know I've been a bad updater but please review! **


	34. Chapter 34

**Hiya! 3 You guys like always! Thanks for reading this far! I'll try to post a longer chappie next time. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago.**

* * *

**Chapter 33**

**Tara's POV**

I watched the white blob called Zane propel himself once more away from the side of the ship. I peered over the side in worry. Zane's mouth was set in a grim straight line, whether it was in annoyance or concentration I would never know.

"Why can't I come with again?" I asked with a hand on one hip.

"Because if the Great Devourer heads to the city, we'll need you more. I can use your tree in the forest to possibly communicate with you on the ship if anything goes wrong," came the reply. I sighed heavily and began to return to my room to go to bed. That boy gives me a headache.

I plopped down into my downy pillow and let my thoughts drift me off to sleep. Hey, hopefully we'd be in Ninjago City by the time I wake up!

* * *

_I looked around. It appeared to me I was in one of those bird-eye view type dreams. I waited patiently as my focus zoomed onto a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere. A moment later, a small girl burst out behind the wooden door, tears streaming behind her. I gasped out loud, but no one seemed to notice me. I knew that girl... and these actions... they were the same one's that happened that day! I called for the girl running into the desert, but she didn't hear me either. I peered into the wooden shack, not bothering to read the sign that said "Clubhouse" above the door. Inside sat a small boy with a dark blue baseball cap spun backwards around his head. He was looking at the ground embarrassedly and nervously fidgeting. Another person, a girl, stood in the opposing corner, her long black hair purposely slid over her face like a curtain. She glanced out the window absentmindedly as if nothing had happened._

_I called out frantically, "Aren't you going to go after her! Don't you realize what you've done?!" No sound came out of my mouth. The final person in the room stood up, repeating the exact words I had just spoken. I wasn't really surprised, considering the person was me as a little girl. Her, or should I say my, fists clenched and unclenched waiting for any form of response, the little Tara then bolted out the door, leaving with a swish of blonde hair as she bolted through the pathway to follow the previous girl._

_I felt myself get tugged with her, to where the point where we reached the girl's house. Little Tara pounded on the door frantically, nearly punching the couple that answered the door. She bowed politely and then rudely pushed them aside to storm inside her house. I could feel the anxiety rise within myself, I didn't want to see what happened next, not again. Little Tara was already at the girl's door. I shouted out for her not to open it, even begged, but my even I couldn't answer my pleas. I shrieked as the door creaked open and closed my eyes. A heard the Little Tara drop the bag she had held in her hands, and gasp. I didn't want to acknowledge what was there, but I felt my hands drop to their own accord. All I could see in my fading vision was rope. Lots and lots of rope._

My eyes shot open and I listened to my ragged breath for a while as it returned to a regular pace. My face scrunched up in disgust as I realized I was covered in a sheen of sweat and my bed was soaked in sweat as well. I swung my feet to the side of the bed and stood up shakily. Tip-toeing down the hall, I tried to avoid making any noise.

* * *

**Jay's POV**

I heard a creak and a few moments later, I felt something tickling my face. I opened my eyes slowly to see Tara looking down at me with trembling eyes. She stood back and I got out of bed, rubbing my eyes. I looked at the giant blanket she had wrapped around her like some sort of safety advice while I waited absent-mindedly for her to explain why she had the urge to make me up in the middle of the night.

"I had a nightmare..." she began. Tara didn't continue.

I nodded quickly, "I understand. If it's about what I think it is, then we probably should wake everyone else up. They deserve to know this too..."

Everyone crowded into Cole's, Zane's, Kai's, and my room with expressions ranging from bleary-eyed to irritation. I found it slightly hilarious that everyone was in their pj's in one room. It looked like we were having a sleepover or something ridiculous.

"So... want to inform us what is going on?" Kai asked Tara and I.

"Yeah! And what about Zane?" Cole questioned. I nudged Tara lightly on the elbow.

"Umm... well Zane isn't on board anymore... something came up. He should probably be able to hear me though anyways. As for what's going on..." Tara's voice trailed off into nothingness.

"I think what Tara's wanting to tell us has something to do with the past of Jay, Tara, and I," Violet suggested, stepping out from the corner of the room. "Isn't that right?" Tara nodded and continued to stay silent. Nya put an arm around Tara good-naturedly.

"Come on Tara, you'll feel better once you tell us what's going on!" Tara looked up at her and her eyes shone hopefully. Tara then looked at the rest of us with determination. Her lips parted and she took a slow intake of air. It was the beginning of an explanation that brought three friends together, but also had torn them apart.

* * *

**Although I only had I think one review last chappie... Thanks to all those who review and those who read anonymously! **


	35. Chapter 35

**Hey thanks for your support last chappie! You guys were amazing! For those of you who asked questions in your reviews, log in next time so I can PM you an answer quickly, or I'll try to answer them in this author's note next time. This is the start of Tara's Past. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

* * *

**Chapter 34: Tara's Past pt 1**

_Flashback/ Explanation_

_At first there was just me. Alone. I was always wandering, searching, for something important. It was a thing I had read in books when I snuck into the Ninjago Library at night. That "thing" was called parents. Of course I knew that I was a tree, however, that didn't stop me from believing that I had human parents or some part of me was like them._

_One day I strayed too far from the forest... past the protection of the wiser trees that understood the dangers that were located in the city. Nevertheless, the rebellion I craved and mission in my head prevailed as I travelled to Ninjago City. When I reached the city, I was breathing hard and dirt caked my body. I tried to ignore the constant stares I received from pedestrians. Later I would learn that for humans, it was culturally improper to be without clothing. I was about to board a metal beast, whose several mouths engulfed people before it sped away, leaving wooden and metal tracks behind. (AN: that's a train in case you're wondering) I was about to enter one of the beast's mouths when a hand pulled me back harshly. I turned around and craned my neck up to see a man dressed in navy and a strange black box connected to his ear._

_"Yeah, I found her," he told the black box disdainfully, "I'll bring her over right away." He turned back to face me after talking and merely grunted as he pointed to a much smaller metal beast. When the man commanded the beast to move forward, I was surprised by the flashing red and blue eyes that sounded above the head of the beast._

_A few minutes later, the person had escorted me to a dilapidated... *cough* *cough*... WOODEN door. The man then quickly retreated back into the beast and sped away after he knocked upon the door. A large, flamboyant woman answered the door. I heard children screaming in the background._

_"You're the one on the news! Think of all the popularity we'll bring in if I can transform you!" she cried out. "Oh, excuse me, I'm Mirabelle, welcome to the Second Chance Orphanage!"_

_I frowned slightly and tilted my head to one side, "Orphanage?"_

* * *

_A year had passed. I now comprehended that "orphanage" meant pure torture. I didn't belong in a molding wooden house. My home was the forest. However, they promised me one thing that the forest couldn't. That one day, I too could have parents if I worked hard enough for it. But, after the 74th failed interview, I began losing hope. That was the day when two of our paths collided. I was playing hopscotch by myself as I usually did during recess when someone's kickball flew over our fence and into the house next door. None of the kids dared to even attempt to retrieve the ball due to all the heavy underbrush that surrounded the house behind the orphanage, so I volunteered. It wasn't like plants were going to tear me limb by limb or something. I squirmed through a small hole in the chain-link fence and found myself amongst a sea of pungent odors, all coming from various vials and chemicals... located in a __**backyard!**__ A small girl with rich mocha skin and hair to match popped up from underneath one of the tables. She immediately noticed me a marched over. Then, she leaned in closer and began staring at me with her dark brown eyes. Feeling awkward and uncomfortable, I looked away first. Her eyes brightened as she tucked a stand of loose hair back into her braid, adjusted her white lab coat, pushed her round glasses back to their correct position, and finally stuck her gloved hand out to greet me._

_"What a peculiar human... I'm !" she shook my hands in a calculating manner. I stared at her, wondering how a child could have a doctorate at such a young age. I then realized she was expecting me to give my name and I looked at the floor in hesitation. Lady Mirabelle had suggested calling me generic names like Suzie and Erin for interviews, but I always had my real name that I had ever since I was back at the forest._

_I looked back up at her with renewed determination, "Tara. Call me Tara." She dragged me by the hand enthusiastically and began showing me her various experiments. After that day, no one could find me at recess, not even at the hopscotch squares._

_Around a month later, I leapt over the familiar chain-link fence, avoiding the sharp sections I memorized at the top. I then sprinted through the underbrush, reaching my goal._

_"Coco!" I shouted as my laboratory friend looked up from her latest experiment and grinned._

_"What's new Tara? How did the interview go?" she asked casually._

_My eyes adverted hers, "Well that's the thing... there's a couple who are now thinking of adopting me..." my voice trailed off. I heard a crash and looked back over to Coco. She had dropped one of her beakers in surprise and had dropped its contents all over the concrete._

_"Silly me... dropping stuff over stuff like this," she mumbled as she bent down to pick up the glass shards, "I keep forgetting that people are variables. Subject to change." I frowned at her comment._

_"What do you mean Coco? I came here because I don't want to be adopted yet, I don't want to lose you as my friend," I grinned as I finished clearing the rest of her mess. A small smile played on her lips and I saw her eyes brighten. She had formulated an idea._

_"I know just the people who can fix this!" she announced. This couldn't be good._

* * *

_"A house in the midst of a desert?" I groaned at Coco. We were looking at the most inconvenient place to have a house, much less a junkyard._

_"Come on, I've known these guys a while, what's the worst that could happen?" she asked me. I shrugged and slowly agreed as we approached the owners of the place. Coco greeted the parents and then looked at the boy and girl beside them._

_"Hey Jay! Long time no see! Thanks for letting us come over for the summer. This is Tara, the one I've been telling you about," she explained. The boy blushed at Coco's hug she gave him and then stuck his hand out to greet me, which I took gladly. The girl next to him was clutching Jay's hand protectively._

_"Guys, this is Violet. She's from my school and her parents are travelling abroad for the summer." I happily stuck my hand out to greet her. She snarled in response until Jay nudged her in the elbows. She then gradually met my hand with hers. It was the start of an awkward friendship, along with the start of a mind-blowing summer._

* * *

**Thanks for all those who review and read anonymously! You're support means a lot! Also, I am also against Lego Ninjago going off-air due to the Lego Friends or whatever it is. Petitions are all over the internet (please don't go to scams tho!) Let's show our support for Lego Ninjago! :) See ya next week! **


	36. Chapter 36

**I don't own Lego or Ninjago**

**Chapter 35: Tara's Past Pt 2**

* * *

_Nail by nail, using random scraps of luggage, the four of us managed to build a clubhouse. However, one day we held our meeting, everything got out of hand..._

_I was in the middle of the clubhouse with my arms outspread like an airplane, making "wooshing" noises every now and then as I chased Jay. Coco was sitting on a nearby crate giggling slightly and nibbling on a cookie we had successfully captured on a mission. Violet was gazing out the window with a larger frown than usual on her face. She should really smile more...That's right. Violet would be leaving us in a week. Her parents were finally returning from studying abroad. Summer was almost over..._

_I blinked a few times and snapped out of my thoughts before I realized I had stopped chasing Jay, who now stood in front of me._

_"If you keep spacing out every time we play a game, Tara, then you'll never win," he chuckled as I felt something being pushed down over my head. I reached up and touched the object. It was Jay's hat. I blew some of the hair out of my face and grinned innocently, not understanding the envious looks from Violet or Coco. I felt a rush of wind past my head, and in the next second, Jay's hat had returned to his hands._

_"Don't take things that don't belong to you," Violet sniffed. I heard the stifle of a laugh come from Coco's direction. I whirled around._

_"What?" I demanded. She just pointed at my head and continued laughing. I looked over to Jay for an answer and saw he was trying to contain his laughter too._

_"My hat... it turned your hair into a complete 'fro," he smirked. I raised my hand to touch my curly hair... that was now frizzed out and much higher than usual. I grinned good-naturedly and laughed with Jay and Coco._

_..._

_"How can you be laughing at a time like this?!" I heard Violet shout. The three of us turned around with a puzzled expression on our faces. Her hair covered her eyes, making her expression unreadable._

_"I only have one week left with you guys and all you can do is laugh?You guys don't even seem even the least bit remorseful! Don't you guys care at all!"_

_I opened my mouth to answer her barrage of questions but she cut me off. I took into account that tiny spots on the floor were stained dark from her tears._

_"...Oh I know why..." Violet smiled as she looked up with pain-filled eyes, "It's her. Coco. You like her. Don't you, Jay?" I looked over at Jay who was turning an increasingly uncomfortable shade of red. Coco was staring at him with eager, expectant eyes. However, I could also tell that she wasn't ready to hear his answer... one way or another. _

_Jay stood up from his chair, "No! It's not like that! Why would I like such an idiotic gir-" Jay stopped looking at Violet and slowly peeled his eyes toward Coco as he brought his hands to his mouth._

_He nervously looked at Coco's shaking figure and stuttered, "I-I didn't mean that Coco..." Coco nervously played with the hem of her lab coat._

_"No," she choked, "you wouldn't of said it if you hadn't meant it, would you?" She laughed hollowly before looking up at us with a small, sad smile._

_"I think I need some fresh air..." she announced quietly before she sprinted out of the room. I looked at Jay, with his dark blue baseball cap spun backwards on his head and saw him only looking at the ground embarrassedly and fidgeting. Violet stood in the opposing corner with her long black hair purposely slid over her face like a curtain. She glanced out the window absentmindedly as if nothing had happened._

_I cried out frantically, "Aren't you going to go after her! Don't you realize what you've done?!" They both remained glued to their spots. Their eyes looked dull..._

_I dashed out of the room in a fury of anger. I sprinted though the mazes in the junkyard and started running down the desert road that ran into Ninjago City. I never stopped to breathe. No matter how hard my chest pounded against my body or how ragged my breath became, I persevered. Eventually, I was in front of Coco's house. I pounded on the door frantically, I could have sworn I accidentally punched the couple that answered the door. With a small bow, I pushed the couple aside and stormed their house. I had never been inside Coco's house, but I had good tuition about which room she would be in. I sprinted up the stairs two at a time and rushed to Coco's door. Two sets of footsteps were quickly following mine. I looked down at the chocolates I had bought right before I came here as a reconciliation gift before I knocked on Coco's door a few times. I started to feel a hand begin to pull me back to force me to start to explain myself, so I took my last chance and leapt forward to open the (hopefully unlocked) door. I gasped out loud and didn't realize the grip that had been pulling me back had slackened._

_Right as I had opened the door I became a witness. Coco was looking at me with shock-filled eyes... just at the same moment she kicked away the chair that had been supporting her and let the rope tighten around her neck. Her parents had rushed forward to save her, but when they finally were able to untangle Coco from the rope, it was too late. I remember sitting in their family room, feeling guilty I had not come sooner. All I could look at is the bag of chocolates I had decided to purchase right before I had entered her house. The stupid smiles plastered over them only seemed to mock me._

_Violet and Jay eventually found out. We never said anything when we went to __**her**__ grave each day. Her parents had forbid us from ever seeing them again. However, at the end of the week, Violet had to leave with her parents. Only Jay and I then visited her grave._

_A month passed. One of the days I was at Jay's house my old orphanage's car pulled up into the dirt driveway. Coco's parents had realized I was from the orphanage and turned me in. Apparently, an old couple had already filled out the paperwork without ever meeting me. I was now their child... Jay watched sadly as I was pulled away in the van, like a dog being taken to the pound. I no longer had the luxury of visiting Coco's grave. With no one to accompany him... Jay's parents told him to give it a rest._

_I did sneak out to Coco's grave one more time though. When I saw it, her grave wasn't even recognizable. It was covered in weeds and moss. It looked forgotten..._

_Although Jay, Violet, and I were broken up since we were no longer united through Coco, we still could visit each other if we tried hard enough. Coco, on the other hand, was now left behind. We had never forgotten her... it was just too painful to acknowledge that we had let something like that happen to our friend. We all blamed ourselves._

* * *

**R&R. Hope you enjoyed. No chappie next week due to school dance.**


	37. Chapter 37

**So yeah... please don't hurt me for going off the radar for sooo long. I am finishing recovering from a broken collarbone, so I didn't really feel like updating during that time. I'm here to wrap up this story in a next few chapters. I might make a sequel... but who knows.**

**P.S. Slight time skip here**

**I don't own Ninjago**

* * *

**Tara's POV**

Sitting atop my scaly throne, I peered over the edge of the Devourer whom had unceremoniously fallen to the ground moments earlier.

"Mwahahaha!" I bellowed as I surveyed the city from my throne, "The world is mine! ...I mean saved! The world is saved!" After acting for a few more seconds, I leapt of the oversized creature that now emitted an odor like most of Cole's food.

Kai looked over at me with annoyance as he bandaged up one of his arms, "How is it that you don't even have a scratch on you but the rest of the team got torn to shreds? And shouldn't we try to get to Zane as soon as possible?" Marching up to him, I helped Kai finish putting on a band-aid to his arm right before punching him in the same spot.

"You're just jealous of my ninja reflexes," I smirked before skipping aboard the ship, leaving the cleanup of the Devourer to the policemen.

Wandering the halls of the ship, I found that I had unconsciously entered the training room, where Cole had fallen asleep.

"Using a dumbbell for a pillow _cannot_ be comfortable," I muttered as I sat down beside Cole. His dark hair remained plastered to his face and his tanned skin seemed to glow due to the lighting. Lifting his head with extreme caution, I removed the dumbbell underneath and guided his head into my lap. After a few minutes of worrying about the forest, I absentmindedly brushed a fly strand of hair that appeared that it would tickle his face. Cole's eyes flickered open at the disturbance; his obsidian eyes showed no surprise and stared up into my clear, blue eyes.

"Gah!" I announced with surprise as I leapt away, causing Cole's head to impact with the floor. Sitting up and rubbing the back of his head where a lump was forming, Cole narrowed his eyes at me.

"What was that for?" he demanded in frustration. Feeling a ball of guilt rise and catch in the back of my throat, I held up both of my hands to shield me from further wrath.

"I... um... was just startled. I didn't expect you to wake up," I replied sheepishly as I felt a blush rise and cover my face. Cole shook his head like a dog so his hair was no longer glued to his forehead and began drawing patterns in the floor with a finger. He reminded me of a dejected puppy left in a cardboard box.

"Well?" he inquired as he lifted his face to meet my eyes, "Get over here to learn how to take care of a teammate properly. And by that I mean no head-dropping onto the floor." Feeling slightly embarrassed, I inched my way over to Cole and knelt beside him... around ten feet away. I heard an exaggerated sigh escape Cole's mouth and an arm slinked around my waist before yanking me towards him. Immediately, a familiar scent of earth and pine enveloped me. Cole smelt... like home.

"Do it again," Cole commanded, snapping me out of my reverie. I felt my blush further creep up to my ears as I tried to ignore the pleasant smell radiating off him. Then, without warning, Cole plopped his head back into my lap. Fumbling for words, I peered down at Cole, who was grinning from ear to ear and pressing a finger to his lips to indicate for me to be quiet. My heart rate had increased and I looked around the room frantically and helplessly. Stealing another glance to Cole, I believe I imagined a slight tint of red sprinkled across his cheeks. Catching my eyes with a look of surprise, Cole lifted an arm and covered his eyes to hide his embarrassment. After a few moments of what I thought was awkward silence, Cole spoke up.

"Did you gain weight the last few minutes? Your lap seems squishier than before," Cole joked to lighten the uncomfortable atmosphere. I lifted the arm he used to cover his eyes and leaned closer to his face. Smirking with evil intent, I grabbed his head on either side with both of my hands and... dropped him on the floor again.

"Even if my lap is squishier, I guess I still haven't learned how to take care of my teammate!" I called out as I failed to saunter out of the room, leaving Cole behind with an astonished look on his face.

* * *

Jay had successfully landed the ship at the coordinates that were supposed to be the forest I called home. Opening the door to the top deck, I gasped at the scene before me. Trees lay broken, twisted, and eroding with acid. The roots were, well, uprooted and the soil lay upturned and ready for the wind to blow it away. Far in the distance, a tall, thriving tree acted as a splash of color against the barren canvas. I felt my stomach fall as I scanned the horizon for any trace of Zane. The Devourer had obviously ravaged the lands here. Had Zane been able to protect me? More importantly, had Zane been able to protect himself?

Positioning one hand to grip firmly on the flying ship's railing, I pressed my weight onto my hand before flipping myself over the edge to land on the forest floor accompanied by the slight puff of a dust cloud. Peering back up at the ship, I realized I didn't have the patience to wait for Kai, Jay, Cole, and the rest even though they had just reached the upper deck. Tying my mess of blonde hair into a concoction no one would even be able to call a ponytail, I began to sprint at breakneck speed to the one source of life in my now bleak forest. Seeing my friends and family destroyed so carelessly felt like a stab to the heart, but the worry for my new family far surpassed the pain of my old family.

Skidding to a stop, I took a sharp intake of breath of amazement due to the scene before me. My tree, my willow tree, stood alone among the carnage. Slowly circling the tree, not one scratch lay upon the bark, not one leaf perished, not one root severed, it all lay intact. But there was no Zane. Not one trace.

Why didn't he contact me?

Where was he?

Did he not trust me anymore? The blessing that I had been given by my android friend was astounding. Circling back to the front of my tree, I noticed a few drops of oil staining a few strands of grass allowed to live beside the tree. A strange stinging sensation filled the back of my eyes.

Rubbing them I choked out, "Oh, Zane...why?" Why did he push himself so far? I jumped at the feeling of a hand landing on my shoulder. Pivoting around, I came face to face with Cole. Before I had any chance to react from our closeness, he shoved a letter in front of my face. Grabbing it, I messed with the edges of the paper as I slowly read my death sentence.

"Ninjago citizens..." I began to slowly read aloud, "Damaged forest scheduled for construction of new homes... purchase now." The bittersweet taste of tree sap filled my mouth as I realized I had been biting down on the inside of my cheek.

"It's scheduled for tomorrow," Jay piped in as he approached us from behind.

"Tomorrow?!" I cried out, near hyperventilating. Sitting down at the base of my tree trunk, I gazed up into the swaying red leaves of my tree. Not only was my old family going to be cast away into firewood and building materials, my own life was now endangered too. And with the disappearance of Zane, a large part of my ninja family, I felt horrible.

Like one of those crappy damsels in distress.

* * *

**I hope that this isn't worse than my past writings. What did you think? Critique, comment, and yell at me in the cute review box below. :)**


End file.
